Treatment of emerging contaminants in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) effluents by solar photocatalysis using low TiO2 concentrations

Piggery wastewater includes a lot of hardly degradable pollutants, which are not well removed during treatment plants. In our study, a multi-stage wastewater treatment system was introduced, which contains liquid-solid separation, anaerobic fermentation, aerobic treatment, functional material filtration and oxidation processes. In RPAFR, the readily biodegradable organic matter was degraded, and the removal efficiency of COD and BOD5reached 80%; but nitrogen and phosphorus could not be removed effectively. When MEOD and MFMI were operated to treat digested effluent, nitrogen and phosphorus were effectively removed. The removal of three kinds of antibiotics (FQs, SMs and TCs) in piggery wastewater treatment plants were detected, and for most antibiotics, more than 90% compounds were eliminated, but only few of them were totally removed in wastewater of final effluent. The weather also influenced the removal efficiency of DC, CIP and SMZ, which were better in autumn than spring, however, the whole trend of antibiotics elimination were similar in different weather. Different kinds of antibiotics residues in final effluent enhanced the ecological risk of environmental waters and human health.

Download Full-text

Determination of pharmaceutical residues and assessment of their removal efficiency at the Daugavgriva municipal wastewater treatment plant in Riga, Latvia

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2016.528 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 75 (2) ◽

pp. 387-396 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

I. Reinholds ◽

O. Muter ◽

I. Pugajeva ◽

J. Rusko ◽

I. Perkons ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

High Performance ◽

Emerging Contaminants ◽

Municipal Wastewater ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

High Resolution Mass Spectrometry ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Pharmaceutical Products ◽

Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽

Toxicological Studies

Pharmaceutical products (PPs) belong to emerging contaminants that may accumulate along with other chemical pollutants in wastewaters (WWs) entering industrial and/or urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In the present study, the technique of ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (Orbitrap-HRMS) was applied for the analysis of 24 multi-class PPs in WW samples collected at different technological stages of Daugavgriva WWTP located in Riga, Latvia. Caffeine and acetaminophen levels in the range of 7,570–11,403 ng/L and 810–1,883 ng/L, respectively, were the predominant compounds among 19 PPs determined in the WW. The results indicate that aerobic digestion in biological ponds was insufficiently effective to degrade most of the PPs (reduction efficiency <0–50.0%) with the exception of four PPs that showed degradation efficiency varying from 55.0 to 99.9%. Tests of short-term chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis for PP degradation in WW samples were performed, and the results reflected the complexity of different degradation mechanisms and physicochemical transformations of PPs. The toxicological studies of WW impact on Daphnia magna indicated gradual reduction of the total toxicity through the treatment stages at the WWTP.

Download Full-text

Pharmaceuticals and Endocrine Disruptors in Wastewater Treatment Effluents and in the Water Supply System of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Water Quality Research Journal ◽

10.2166/wqrj.2006.039 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 351-364 ◽

Cited By ~ 70

Author(s):

Mei Chen ◽

Klas Ohman ◽

Chris Metcalfe ◽

Michael G. Ikonomou ◽

Prasanna L. Amatya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Water Supply ◽

Emerging Contaminants ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Collaborative Study ◽

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds ◽

Health Impact ◽

Supply System ◽

Water Supply System ◽

Aquatic Life

Abstract Due to a growing interest in the occurrence of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the aquatic environment and their potential impacts on humans and the environment, a collaborative study was conducted on these emerging contaminants in the effluents from the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and in the drinking water supply system of Calgary, Alberta. A number of PhACs and EDCs were detected in the WWTP effluents, at concentrations ranging from ng/L to low µ-g/L. Although these compounds were generally removed from WWTP effluents during wastewater treatment, some compounds, such as carbamazepine were more persistent. Some target PhACs and EDCs were detected at low ng/L levels in the surface and potable water in this study. Currently, there is no evidence that trace amounts of PhACs and EDCs in Calgary's waterways can have a health impact on humans, but they may pose adverse chronic effects on aquatic life.

Download Full-text

Environmental Impact of the Presence, Distribution, and Use of Artificial Sweeteners as Emerging Sources of Pollution

Journal of Environmental and Public Health ◽

10.1155/2021/6624569 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Ab Qayoom Naik ◽

Tabassum Zafar ◽

Vinoy Kumar Shrivastava

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Surface Waters ◽

Emerging Contaminants ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Food Additive ◽

Artificial Sweeteners ◽

Sources Of Pollution ◽

Treatment Processes ◽

Water Ecosystem

Artificial sweeteners are posing a new threat to the environment. The water ecosystem is the primary recipient of these emerging contaminants. Once ingested, sufficient amount of these artificial sweeteners escape unchanged from the human body and are added to the environment. However, some are added in the form of their breakdown products through excretion. Artificial sweeteners are resistant to wastewater treatment processes and are therefore continuously introduced into the water environments. However, the environmental behavior, fate, and long-term ecotoxicological contributions of artificial sweeteners in our water resources still remain largely unknown. Some artificial sweeteners like saccharin are used as a food additive in animal feeds. It also forms the degradation product of the sulfonylurea herbicides. All artificial sweeteners enter into the wastewater treatment plants from the industries and households. From the effluents, they finally reside into the receiving environmental bodies including wastewaters, groundwaters, and surface waters. The global production of these sweeteners is several hundred tons annually and is continuously being added into the environment.

Download Full-text

A Review of the Occurrence of Pharmaceutical Compounds as Emerging Contaminants in Treated Wastewater and Aquatic Environments

Current Pharmaceutical Analysis ◽

10.2174/1573412918666211119142030 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 ◽

Author(s):

Rahul Silori ◽

Syed Mohammad Tauseef

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Emerging Contaminants ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Pharmaceutical Compounds ◽

Treated Wastewater ◽

Aquatic Environments ◽

Aquatic Life ◽

Adverse Health Effects ◽

Treatment Processes ◽

Comprehensive Information

: 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.

Download Full-text

Identification of Aquifer Recharge Sources as the Origin of Emerging Contaminants in Intensive Agricultural Areas. La Plana de Castellón, Spain

Water ◽

10.3390/w12030731 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 731 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Arianna Renau-Pruñonosa ◽

Olga García-Menéndez ◽

María Ibáñez ◽

Enric Vázquez-Suñé ◽

Clara Boix ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Emerging Contaminants ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Reclaimed Water ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Aquifer Recharge ◽

Heterogeneous Aquifers ◽

Recharge Sources ◽

Agricultural Areas ◽

And Behavior

In urban, industrial, and agricultural areas, a vast array of contaminants may be found because they are introduced into the aquifers by different recharge sources. The emerging contaminants (ECs) correspond to unregulated contaminants, which may be candidates for future regulation depending on the results of research into their potential effects on health and on monitoring data regarding their occurrence. ECs frequently found in wastewater, such as acetaminophen, carbamazepine, primidone, and sulfamethoxazole, may be good indicators of the introduction of the reclaimed water to the aquifers. The resistance of the ECs to removal in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) causes them to be appropriate sewage markers. Plana de Castellón (Spain) is a coastal area that has been characterized by intensive citrus agriculture since the 1970s. Traditionally, in the southern sector of Plana de Castellón, 100% of irrigation water comes from groundwater. In recent years, local farmers have been using a mixture of groundwater and reclaimed water from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to irrigate the citrus. The aims of the present study were: (i) to assess the occurrences, spatial distributions, and concentrations of selected ECs, including 32 antibiotics, 8 UV filters, and 2 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, in groundwater in a common agricultural context; (ii) to identify the recharge (pollution) sources acting as the origin of the ECs, and (iii) to suggest ECs as indicators of reclaimed water arrival in detrital heterogeneous aquifers. The obtained data provided relevant information for the management of water resources and elucidated the fate and behavior of emerging contaminants in similar contexts.

Download Full-text