scholarly journals An assessment of the concentrations of pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater treatment plants on the island of Gran Canaria (Spain)

SpringerPlus ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rayco Guedes-Alonso ◽  
Cristina Afonso-Olivares ◽  
Sarah Montesdeoca-Esponda ◽  
Zoraida Sosa-Ferrera ◽  
José Juan Santana-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Pharmaceutical Compounds ◽  
Gran Canaria

scholarly journals A Survey of the Presence of Pharmaceutical Residues in Wastewaters. Evaluation of Their Removal using Conventional and Natural Treatment Procedures

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
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Pharmaceutical Compounds ◽  
Adaptation Strategy ◽  
Pharmaceutical Residues ◽  
Natural Treatment ◽  
Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass ◽  
Removal Efficiencies

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Occurrence of Pharmaceutical Compounds in Groundwater from the Gran Canaria Island (Spain)

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 262
Author(s):  
Sarah Montesdeoca-Esponda ◽  
María del Pino Palacios-Díaz ◽  
Esmeralda Estévez ◽  
Zoraida Sosa-Ferrera ◽  
José Juan Santana-Rodríguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Extraction Procedure ◽  
Pharmaceutical Compounds ◽  
Soil Leachate ◽  
In Situ Extraction ◽  
Gran Canaria ◽  
Groundwater Samples ◽  
Treated Sewage ◽  
Target Analytes ◽  
Relationship Of

The presence of pharmaceutical compounds in the whole environment is a growing concern. These compounds might be present in the effluents of wastewater treatment plants and, hence, irrigation with treated sewage may be a source of groundwater pollution. The volcanic aquifer that lies NE of Gran Canaria (Spain) was studied to address the relationship of the occurrence of pharmaceutical compounds and a golf course that has been irrigated with regenerated water since 1973. Of the 14 analyzed groundwater samples, five wells were chosen to perform annual monitoring. Irrigation water and soil leachate were also evaluated. The target analytes were atenolol, metamizole, fluoxetine, ibuprofen, nicotine, permethrin, caffeine, and their metabolite paraxanthine. The environmental risk is limited as the concentrations of the pharmaceuticals measured in the sampled wells were always below 60 ng·L−1 (lower than the detected caffeine and nicotine concentrations). Wide variations for the same wells were measured among sampling campaigns, and also among the different wells. The study points to the importance of sample conservation during transport and the need to perform analyses immediately, or to follow an in-situ extraction procedure to carry concentrated samples under better conditions.

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