Occurrence and environmental impact of pharmaceutical residues from conventional and natural wastewater treatment plants in Gran Canaria (Spain)

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.

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Occurrence of sulfonamide residues along the Ebro river basinRemoval in wastewater treatment plants and environmental impact assessment

Environment International ◽

10.1016/j.envint.2010.11.011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 462-473 ◽

Cited By ~ 160

Author(s):

M. Jesús García-Galán ◽

M. Silvia Díaz-Cruz ◽

Damià Barceló

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Impact Assessment ◽

Environmental Impact Assessment ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Ebro River ◽

Sulfonamide Residues

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Environmental impact of the effluents discharging from full-scale wastewater treatment plants evaluated by a hybrid fuzzy approach

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148212 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 148212

Author(s):

Zhuo Chen ◽

Dan Wang ◽

Guohua Dao ◽

Qi Shi ◽

Tong Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Full Scale ◽

Fuzzy Approach

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Production of Methane From Microalgae Biofilms Growing in Wastewater Treatment Plants in the Canary Islands

Linnaeus Eco-Tech ◽

10.15626/eco-tech.2010.096 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 904-917

Author(s):

Giovana O. Fistarol ◽

Mario Rosato ◽

Nerieida M. R. Rodríguez ◽

Mauela A. Bastidas ◽

Paulo Sérgio Salomon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Canary Islands ◽

Nutrient Removal ◽

Biomass Yield ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Low Cost ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Methanogenic Bacteria ◽

Biofuel Production ◽

Gran Canaria

Two recurrent topics among the scientific community are the use of microalgae in wastewater treatment plants as a biological agent for nutrient removal, and, more recently, the use of microalgae for biofuel production. In this study we have analysed the possibility of coupling these two processes, using microalgae that naturally form biofilms on wastewater treatment tanks to produce methane. The proposal is to develop a low cost, environmental friendly methodology, with the economical and environmental advantages of enhancing the removal of nutrients from wastewater, and producing sustainable biofuel. A methane assay using microalgae biofilms from the primary and secondary treatment tanks from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) on the Canary Islands (EDAR-del Sureste, Gran Canaria, Spain) showed that, when this substrate is added to a suitable methanogenic bacteria, in this case marine sludge from a fish farm, it gives a methane yield of 0.104 Nm3 kg-1 VS. We also checked the in situ biomass yield of the biofilm (3.16 g AFDW m-2 d-1 and 7.71 g AFDW m-2 d-1, for the primary tank and secondary tank respectively), and the growth of this biofilms in photobioreactors (PBR). When grown in PBR, the algae composition of biofilm from the primary tank becomes dominate by a unicellular chlorophyta and produces 0.24 kg AFDW m- 3 d-1 of biomass; while biofilm from the secondary tank becomes dominated by the filamentous chlorophyta Stigeoclonium, and has a biomass yield of 0.48 kg AFDW m-3 d-1. The biofilms growing the WWTP of the EDAR del Sureste, in Gran Canaria, are a free naturally available source of biomass, and we have shown in this study that this biofilm, besides being used as a natural agent for nutrient removal in a WWTP, it has also the potentialof being used as a low cost, green source of biomass for methane production.

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Review of the environmental impact assessment process of wastewater treatment plants in Spain

Environment Protection Engineering ◽

10.37190/epe180402 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Jose Luis Fuentes-Bargues _

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Impact Assessment ◽

Environmental Impact Assessment ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Assessment Process

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Distribution, mass load and environmental impact of multiple-class pharmaceuticals in conventional and upgraded municipal wastewater treatment plants in East China

Environmental Science Processes & Impacts ◽

10.1039/c4em00596a ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 596-605 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Xiangjuan Yuan ◽

Zhimin Qiang ◽

Weiwei Ben ◽

Bing Zhu ◽

Jiuhui Qu

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Municipal Wastewater ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

East China ◽

Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽

Mass Load ◽

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Multiple Class

The occurrence, fate and environmental impact of multiple-class pharmaceuticals were comparatively investigated in two wastewater treatment plants (upgraded vs. conventional) in East China.

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Evaluation of the Presence of Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds in Dissolved and Solid Wastewater Treatment Plant Samples of Gran Canaria Island (Spain)

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2013/790570 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

T. Vega-Morales ◽

Z. Sosa-Ferrera ◽

J. J. Santana-Rodríguez

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Estrogenic Activity ◽

Solid Phase ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds ◽

Gran Canaria ◽

Assisted Extraction ◽

Endocrine Disrupting ◽

Ultrasonic Assisted

Liquid and solid samples from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) on Gran Canaria Island (Spain) have been tested for the presence of compounds with endocrine-disrupting properties. The selected degradation stages were sampled bimonthly from each WWTP over the 12-month period from July 2010 to July 2011. The analytical methods used for the determination of the endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) were based on on-line solid phase extraction, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), and ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) coupled to UHPLC-MS/MS. All of the hyphenated methodologies employed in this work showed good recoveries (72–104%) and sensitivities, with LODs lower than 7.0 ng L−1and 6.3 ng g−1for the dissolved and solid fractions, respectively. We have also evaluated the estrogenicity of the samples in terms of their estradiol equivalent concentrations (EEQs). The chemical analysis of the selected EDCs revealed fairly low concentrations for both natural and synthetic oestrogens, alkylphenolic compounds, and bisphenol-A in each of the dissolved, particulate, and sludge samples (ng L−1or ng g−1). However, the estimated estrogenic activity indicated that the majority of samples could represent an important environmental risk, clearly surpassing the threshold to exert deleterious consequences on living beings.

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Life Cycle Assessment of a Plant-Based, Regionally Marketed Shampoo and Analysis of Refill Options

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13158478 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 8478

Author(s):

Hanna Kröhnert ◽

Matthias Stucki

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Life Stage ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Effective Measure ◽

Use Phase

The environmental impact of a plant-based shampoo produced and marketed in Zurich, Switzerland, was analyzed using the life cycle assessment method. Beside the identification of environmental hotspots and mitigation possibilities, the focus of the study was on the analysis and comparison of different refill offers. The results of the study show that one hair wash using the investigated shampoo is related to greenhouse gas emissions of 161 gCO2eq. For all investigated impact categories, the use phase represents the dominant life stage, except for land use, which is dominated by the production of the purely plant-based shampoo ingredients. The environmental impact related to the use phase is highly sensitive on the consumers’ showering habits, such as water consumption and water temperature, due to predominantly fossil-based heating in Zurich. On the producer’s side, a switch to renewable energy sources both for heating and electricity is identified as most effective measure to reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing phase. As to the product end-of-life, the results suggest that emissions of the shampoo ingredients after wastewater treatment have a negligible impact on freshwater ecotoxicity. In this context, a need for further research is identified with respect to characterization factors and specific removal rates in wastewater treatment plants. From a life cycle perspective, packaging production and disposal have rather low contributions. Offering refill possibilities can reduce the packaging related contributions by several percentage points, however, higher mitigation potentials are found for use phase and manufacturing.

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