Behaviour of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in a sewage treatment plant of northwest Spain

2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 29-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Carballa ◽  
F. Omil ◽  
J.M. Lema ◽  
M. Llompart ◽  
C. García ◽  
...  

Thirteen pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds have been surveyed along the different units of a municipal sewage treatment plant (STP) to study their fate across each step and the overall removal efficiency. The STP studied corresponds to a population of approximately 100,000 inhabitants located in Galicia (northwest Spain), including three main sections: pre-treatment (coarse and fine screening, grit and fat removal); primary treatment (sedimentation tanks); and secondary treatment (conventional activated sludge). Among all the substances considered (galaxolide, tonalide, carbamazepine, diazepam, diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen, estrone, estradiol, ethinylestradiol, roxitromycin, sulfamethoxazole and iopromide), only significant concentrations were found for two musks (galaxolide and tonalide), two antiphlogistics (ibuprofen and naproxen), two natural estrogens (estrone, estradiol), one antibiotic (sulfamethoxazole) and the X-ray contrast media (iopromide), being the other compounds below the quantification level. In the primary treatment, only the fragrances were partly removed, with efficiencies of 20–50% for galaxolide and tonalide. However, the aerobic treatment caused an important reduction in all compounds detected, between 35 and 75%, with the exception of iopromide. The overall removal efficiency of the STP ranged between 70 and 90% for the fragrances, 45 and 70% for the acidic compounds, around 67% for estradiol and 57% for the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole.

1986 ◽  
Vol 18 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 413-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Chiang ◽  
J. H. You

In this investigation it was found that the waste sludge obtained from a municipal sewage treatment plant could be reclaimed as an adsorbent for removal of organic vapours, i.e. toluene, methyl-ethyl-ketone and 1-1-2-trichloroethylene, through use of a pyrolysis technique. In order to find the optimum manufacturing process, several tests were performed under various conditions in which the addition of a catalyst, temperature control, and residence time in the furnace, were considered as the three major factors. Both the reclaimed adsorbent and commercially available activated carbon were evaluated to determine their adsorption capacity at various influent concentrations of organic vapours.


1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (12) ◽  
pp. 279-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Güldner ◽  
W. Hegemann ◽  
N. Peschen ◽  
K. Sölter

The integration of the chemical precipitation unit which would inject a lime solution into a series of mechanical-biological processes, including nitrification/denitrification, and the sludge treatment are the subject of this project. The essential target is the large-scale reconstruction of a mechanical-biological sewage treatment plant with insufficient cleaning performance in the new German states and the adjustment of the precipitation stage to the unsteady inflow of sewage. First results indicate that the pre-treatment performance could be improved by ≅ 20% and the discharge of concentrations of COD, BOD, N and P could be reduced and homogenized. In addition, experiments on hydrolysis and acidifiability of the pre-treatment sludge have been carried out on a laboratory level with the object of making sources of carbon readily available for denitrification. In the course of the experiment, inhibition of fatty acid production by calcareous primary sludge could not be detected. The characteristics of the sludge, such as draining and thickening were considerably improved by the adding of lime.


1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Chu ◽  
C. S. Poon ◽  
R. Y. H. Cheung

Chemically Enhanced Primary Treatment (CEPT) or Chemically Assisted Primary Sedimentation (CAPS) is being employed at the new sewage work on Stonecutters Island as part of the Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme (SSDS) in Hong Kong. CAPS involves the use of chemical coagulants (such as lime or ferric chloride) to induce coagulation or flocculation and let these finely-divided particles form large aggregates (floc) so that they can settle out within a reasonable period of time. In this study, five sludge samples collected from different sewage treatment plants in Hong Kong were physically and chemically characterized. They were chemically modified sludge from Stonecutters Island (CAPS) raw sludge from Tai Po and Yuen Long Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) (rTP & rYL) and anaerobically digested sludge from Tai Po and Yuen Long STP (dTP & dYL). It was found that CAPS sludge was better than other 4 sludge samples in terms of settleability and dewaterability. CAPS sludge contained significant higher amounts (p<0.01) of extractable compounds than other sludges (except NO3− for dTP, NH4+ and PO43− for dYL). The concentration of total N and P in CAPS sludge were significantly higher (p<0.01) than other sludges (except dYL). The concentrations of total Cu, Pb, Ni, Cd, Cr and K in the CAPS sludge were also significantly higher (p<0.01) than other sludge samples. Most of the metals (Cr, Pb, Cr and Zn) in CAPS sludge were associated with the organically-bounded phase. It is concluded that there are significant differences in both physical and chemical properties between the chemically modified sludge and biological treated sludges.


Author(s):  
Włodzimierz Kanownik ◽  
Agnieszka Policht-Latawiec ◽  
Magdalena Wiśnios

Abstract The paper presents changes in the contents of physicochemical indices of the Sudół stream water caused by a discharge of purified municipal sewage from a small mechanical-biological treatment plant with throughput of 300 m3·d−1 and a population equivalent (p.e.) – 1,250 people. The discharge of purified sewage caused a worsening of the stream water quality. Most of the studied indices values increased in water below the treatment plant. Almost a 100-fold increase in ammonium nitrogen, 17-fold increase in phosphate concentrations and 12-fold raise in BOD5 concentrations were registered. Due to high values of these indices, the water physicochemical state was below good. Statistical analysis revealed a considerable effect of the purified sewage discharge on the stream water physicochemical state. A statistically significant increase in 10 indices values (BOD5, COD-Mn, EC, TDS, Cl−, Na+, K+, PO43−, N-NH4+ and N-NO2) as well as significant decline in the degree of water saturation with oxygen were noted below the sewage treatment plant. On the other hand, no statistically significant differences between the water indices values were registered between the measurement points localised 150 and 1,000 m below the purified sewage discharge. It evidences a slow process of the stream water self-purification caused by an excessive loading with pollutants originating from the purified sewage discharge.


2013 ◽  
Vol 671-674 ◽  
pp. 2736-2741
Author(s):  
Yin An Ming ◽  
Tao Tao

To reuse municipal sewage sludge safely, experiment was carried out on grapefruit trees fertilized with composted sludge from Shiweitou Sewage Treatment Plant in Xiamen City of China, and a method was introduced of how to assess the environmental quality of grapefruit trees soil fertilized with sludge by Set Pair Analysis (SPA) model. The results showed that the soil in the surface layer (0-15cm) and the deeper layer (15-30cm) was less clean, and the environment of soil was not polluted. Thus it was feasible to use sludge as fruit fertilizer. The maximum service life of sludge for continuous land application was estimated by taking Cd as the limiting factor, which would provide scientific guide and technical support for safe land application of sludge.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3698
Author(s):  
Jolanta Grochowska ◽  
Renata Augustyniak ◽  
Michał Łopata ◽  
Renata Tandyrak

The research was carried out on Karczemne Lake, a water reservoir located in Kartuzy (northern Poland, Pomeranian Lake District). Monitoring of the water and bottom sediment of Karczemne Lake showed a very high level of contamination of the reservoir by a long-term inflow of untreated municipal sewage. The trophic status index of total phosphorus (TP) was unusually high at 101, and the TP content in the bottom sediments—31 mg g−1 (dry weight)—was the highest value recorded worldwide in a lake. Based on the monitoring results, to achieve constant improvement of the water quality, we recommend a completely new, safe and economically justified method of bottom sediment removal and management. A very important aspect of this method is the prevention of uncontrolled sewage discharge back into the lake basin. Removed sediment with interstitial water will be pumped through a pipeline and transported to a sewage treatment plant. In the sediment mining field in which the sludge will be removed, the first phase of phosphorus inactivation will be carried out to chemically precipitate pollutants distributed in the water column as a result of sediment resuspension. After the deepening of the entire lake basin, the method of phosphorus inactivation will be carried out on the entire surface of the lake as the next stage of restoration. A supporting activity will be biomanipulation. Before the restoration is started, the municipal sewerage system will be modernized.


2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 109-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Bixio ◽  
P. van Hauwermeiren ◽  
C. Thoeye ◽  
P. Ockier

The municipal sewage treatment plant (STP) of the city of Ghent (Belgium) has to be retrofitted to a 43%-increase in the nitrogen treatment capacity and to phosphorus removal. Cold weather, dilute sewage and a critical COD over N ratio make the retrofit a challenge for full biological nutrient removal. The potential for fermentation of primary sludge to alter those critical feed sewage characteristics was experimentally evaluated. The idea was that the pinpoint introduction of fermentate could optimise the available reactors by achieving high-rate denitrification and enhanced biological phosphorus removal. The fermentation process was evaluated with a bench scale apparatus. At 20°C (heated process), the hydrolysis yield - expressed in terms of soluble COD - varied from 11% to 24% of the total sludge COD. The fermentation yield expressed in VFA COD varied from 8% to 13% of the total sludge COD. The efficiency of heated fermentation of primary sludge was lower during cold and wet weather, due to the different sewage characteristics, as a result of extended dilution periods and low temperature. The raw sewage, the primary effluent and the fermentate were fractionated according to the requirements for the IAWQ Activated Sludge Model No. 2d. The results clearly show that fermentation in the sewer played an important role and temperature was the driving parameter for the characteristics of the dissolved COD. Instead, the weather flow conditions were the driving parameter for the characteristics of the suspended COD. The results of the detailed fractionation were used as background for process evaluation. The final scenario choice for the retrofit depends on a cost-efficiency calculation.


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