scholarly journals Investigating the removal of some pharmaceutical compounds in hospital wastewater treatment plants operating in Saudi Arabia

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (13) ◽  
pp. 13003-13014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Al Qarni ◽  
Philip Collier ◽  
Juliette O’Keeffe ◽  
Joseph Akunna
Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 1639 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Guedes-Alonso ◽  
S. Montesdeoca-Esponda ◽  
J. Pacheco-Juárez ◽  
Z. Sosa-Ferrera ◽  
J. J. Santana-Rodríguez

To encourage the reutilization of treated wastewaters as an adaptation strategy to climate change it is necessary to demonstrate their quality. If this is ensured, reclaimed waters could be a valuable resource that produces very little environmental impact and risks to human health. However, wastewaters are one of the main sources of emerging pollutants that are discharged in the environment. For this, it is essential to assess the presence of these pollutants, especially pharmaceutical compounds, in treated wastewaters. Moreover, the different treatment processes must be evaluated in order to know if conventional and natural treatment technologies are efficient in the removal of these types of compounds. This is an important consideration if the treated wastewaters are used in agricultural activities. Owing to the complexity of wastewater matrixes and the low concentrations of pharmaceutical residues in these types of samples, it is necessary to use sensitive analytical methodologies. In this study, the presence of 11 pharmaceutical compounds were assessed in three different wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Gran Canaria (Spain). Two of these WWTPs use conventional purification technologies and they are located in densely populated areas, while the other studied WWTP is based in constructed wetlands which purify the wastewaters of a rural area. The sampling was performed monthly for two years. A solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled to ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was applied for the analysis of the samples, and the 11 pharmaceuticals were detected in all the studied WWTPs. The concentrations were variable and ranged from ng·L−1 in some compounds like diclofenac or carbamazepine to µg·L−1 in common pharmaceutical compounds such as caffeine, naproxen or ibuprofen. In addition, removal efficiencies in both conventional and natural purification systems were evaluated. Similar removal efficiencies were obtained using different purifying treatments, especially for some pharmaceutical families as stimulants or anti-inflammatories. Other compounds like carbamazepine showed a recalcitrant behavior. Secondary treatments presented similar removal efficiencies in both conventional and natural wastewater treatment plants, but conventional treatments showed slightly higher elimination ratios. Regarding tertiary system, the treatment with highest removal efficiencies was reverse osmosis in comparison with microfiltration and electrodialysis reversal.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahul Silori ◽  
Syed Mohammad Tauseef

: In recent years, pharmaceutical compounds have emerged as potential contaminants in the aquatic matrices of the environment. High production, consumption, and limited removal through conventional treatment processes/wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are the major causes for the occurrence of pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater and aquatic environments worldwide. A number of studies report adverse health effects and risks to aquatic life and the ecosystem because of the presence of pharmaceutical compounds in the aquatic environment. This paper provides a state-of-the-art review of the occurrence of pharmaceutical compounds in treated wastewater from various WWTPs, surface water and groundwater bodies. Additionally, this review provides comprehensive information and pointers for research in wastewater treatment and waterbodies management.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenda Timraz ◽  
Yanghui Xiong ◽  
Hamed Al Qarni ◽  
Pei-Ying Hong

This study aims to evaluate the removal efficiency of microbial contaminants by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) operated on-site of two hospitals.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Calhau ◽  
Catarina Mendes ◽  
Angelina Pena ◽  
Nuno Mendonça ◽  
Gabriela Jorge Da Silva

Escherichia coli is simultaneously an indicator of water contamination and a human pathogen. This study aimed to characterize the virulence and resistance of E. coli from municipal and hospital wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in central Portugal. From a total of 193 isolates showing reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and/or nalidixic acid, 20 E. coli with genetically distinct fingerprint profiles were selected and characterized. Resistance to antimicrobials was determined using the disc diffusion method. Extended spectrum β-lactamase and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes, phylogroups, pathogenicity islands (PAIs) and virulence genes were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). CTX-M producers were typed by multilocus sequence typing. Resistance to beta-lactams was associated with the presence of blaTEM,blaSHV, blaCTX-M-15 and blaCTX-M-32. Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance was associated with qnrA, qnrS and aac(6′)-Ib-cr. Aminoglycoside resistance and multidrug-resistant phenotypes were also detected. PAI IV536, PAI IICFT073, PAI II536 and PAI ICFT073, and uropathogenic genes iutA, papAH and sfa/foc were detected. With regard to the clinical ST131 clone, it carried blaCTX-M-15, blaTEM-type, qnrS and aac(6′)-lb-cr; IncF and IncP plasmids, and virulence factors PAI IV536, PAI ICFT073, PAI IICFT073, iutA, sfa/foc and papAH were identified in the effluent of a hospital plant. WWTPs contribute to the dissemination of virulent and resistant bacteria in water ecosystems, constituting an environmental and public health risk.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiman Karami ◽  
Abdollah Dargahi ◽  
Mehdi Vosoughi ◽  
Ali Normohammadi ◽  
Farhad Jalali ◽  
...  

Abstract The current outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to creating a public health emergency conditions since 2019. COVID-19, which is caused by SARS-CoV-2, is spread via human-to-human transmission by direct contact or droplets. Through conducting this study, we were looking for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater produced in Iran country (Ardabil, Nir, Khalkhal and Givi) (wastewater collection network, wastewater treatment plant and hospital wastewater). In this research, samples (n = 76) were collected from influent and effluent of municipal and hospital wastewater treatment plants and some samples were also collected from Ardabil municipal wastewater manholes. The sampling duration included the white (lower risk of covid-19) and red (high risk of covid-19) conditions. Samples were stored at -20°C for further diagnostic tests. Out of 76 samples, a total of 16 samples (21.05%) collected from wastewater in Ardabil province (Ardabil, Nir, Khalkhal, and Givi), were positive in terms of SARS-CoV-2. Wastewater epidemiology can facilitate detection of the incidence of pathogens through metropolises, measurement of population prevalence without direct testing, and provision of information to public health system about the efficiency of intervening efforts.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zico Meetei Mutum ◽  
Abdullah A Ahmadini ◽  
Ahmed Msmali Hussein ◽  
Yaspal Raghav Singh

The novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) has resulted in an ongoing pandemic affecting the health system and devastating impact on global economy. The virus has been found in human feces, in sewage and in wastewater treatment plants. We highlight the transmission behavior, occurrence, and persistence of coronavirus in sewage and wastewater treatment plants. Our approach is to follow in the process of identifying a coronavirus hotspot through existing wastewater plants in major cities of Saudi Arabia. The mathematical distributions including log-normal distribution, Gaussian model and susceptible- exposed-infection-recovered- (SEIR) model are adopted to predict the coronavirus load in wastewater plants. This paper highlights not only the potential virus removal techniques from wastewater treatment plants but also to facilitate tracing of SARS-CoV-2 virus in human through wastewater treatment plants.


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