scholarly journals Evaluation of the Efficiency of Wastewater Treatment Plants in the Removal of Common Antibiotics from Municipal Wastewater in Hamadan, Iran

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 10921-10921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Shokoohi ◽  
Abdollah Dargahi ◽  
Razieh Khamutian ◽  
Yaser Vaziri

The presence of antibiotics in the environment, especially aquatic environments, is a major health and environmental concern.Wastewater treatment plants play an important role in the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater and removal of contaminants.The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of prevalent antibiotics in municipal wastewater of Hamadan,Iran and to evaluate the removal efficiency of wastewater treatment plants. During 3 months (April, May, and June 2016), a total of 12 composite influent and effluent samples were collected from the wastewater treatment plants. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) was used for preparing the samples, which were then analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection.Based on the analysis of 6 antibiotics, three antibiotics, including amoxicillin, imipenem, and cefixime, were detected, and their concentrations were measured at 1.6, 10.7, and 5.8 ug/L, respectively. The removal efficiency of these antibiotics in wastewater treatment plants was 55.66%, 34.01%, and 24.33%, respectively. Due to the presence of examined antibiotics in the effluent and influent wastewater treatment plants, they might cause direct and indirect effects on human health and environment if proper measures are not taken by the authorities. Since the removal of these antibiotics from wastewater treatment plants is relatively poor, it is suggested to use advanced wastewater treatment plants to reduce antibiotics in effluent wastewater and decrease the adverse effects of these micropollutants.

2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donwichai Sinthuchai ◽  
Suwanna Kitpati Boontanon ◽  
Narin Boontanon ◽  
Chongrak Polprasert

This study aimed to investigate the antibiotic concentration at each stage of treatment and to evaluate the removal efficiency of antibiotics in different types of secondary and advanced treatment, as well as the effects of the location of their discharge points on the occurrence of antibiotics in surface water. Eight target antibiotics and four hospital wastewater treatment plants in Bangkok with different conventional and advanced treatment options were investigated. Antibiotics were extracted by solid phase extraction and analysed by high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The antibiotic with the highest concentration at influent was cefazolin at 13,166 ng/L, while the antibiotic with the highest concentration at effluent was sulfamethoxazole at 1,499 ng/L. The removal efficiency of antibiotics from lowest to highest was sulfamethoxazole, piperacillin, clarithromycin, metronidazole, dicloxacillin, ciprofloxacin, cefazolin, and cefalexin. The adopted conventional treatment systems could not completely remove all antibiotics from wastewater. However, using advanced treatments or disinfection units such as chlorination and UV could increase the antibiotic removal efficiency. Chlorination was more effective than UV, ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole concentration fluctuated during the treatment process, and sulfamethoxazole was the most difficult to remove. Both these antibiotics should be studied further regarding their contamination in sludge and suitable treatment options for their removal.


2010 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 2450-2458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Yu-Chen Lin ◽  
Cheng-Fan Lin ◽  
Yu-Ting Tsai ◽  
Hank Hui-Hsiang Lin ◽  
Jie Chen ◽  
...  

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) constitute a class of chemicals of emerging concern due to the potential risks they pose to organisms and the environment, even at low concentrations (ng/L). Recent studies have found that PPCPs are not efficiently removed in secondary wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This study has: (1) simultaneously investigated the occurrence of sixty-one PPCPs using solid phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, (2) evaluated removal efficiencies of target PPCPs in six WWTPs that discharge effluents into major Taiwanese rivers, and lastly (3) examined matrix interference during analysis of target PPCPs in water samples. The twenty target PPCPs were chosen for their high detection frequencies, high influent concentrations, and stability during wastewater treatment processes. Caffeine and acetaminophen were detected at the highest concentrations (as high as 24,467 and 33,400 ng/L) and were effectively removed (both >96%); other PPCPs were detected in the high ng/L range but were not effectively removed. Matrix interference (by ion suppression or enhancement) during the analysis resulted in underestimation of the removal efficiencies of erythromycin-H2O, cefazolin, clarithromycin, ibuprofen, diclofenac, clofibric acid and gemfibrozil.


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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Reinholds ◽  
O. Muter ◽  
I. Pugajeva ◽  
J. Rusko ◽  
I. Perkons ◽  
...  

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.


Author(s):  
Donwichai Sinthuchai ◽  
Suwanna Kitpati Boontanon ◽  
Pitchaya Piyaviriyakul ◽  
Narin Boontanon ◽  
Ranjna Jindal ◽  
...  

Abstract Excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics contributes to the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment, especially in low- to middle-income countries. This study investigated the occurrence, relative abundance, and fate of eight antibiotics at each treatment stage in four domestic and four hospital wastewater treatment plants (dWWTPs and hWWTPs, respectively), as well as mass loadings into the receiving water environments in Bangkok, Thailand. Samples were prepared by solid-phase extraction and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Antibiotic concentrations were higher in hWWTPs than dWWTPs; approximately 60 times for influents and 10 times for effluents. Ciprofloxacin concentration increased in most dWWTPs, especially in the aeration unit and return sludge, suggesting that it predominantly occurred in the solid phase. Sulfamethoxazole predominantly occurred in the dissolved form, which is more difficult to degrade, and exhibited high concentrations in effluent. Moreover, antibiotic pollutant loadings were approximately 30–3,530 times higher from dWWTPs than from hWWTPs due to higher daily discharges from the domestic sector. These plants are a major point source of antibiotic residue release to aquatic environments; thus, their efficiency should be improved by incorporating advanced treatment processes to ensure effective removal of antibiotics.


2012 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 603-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Cavenati ◽  
Pedro N. Carvalho ◽  
C. Marisa R. Almeida ◽  
M. Clara P. Basto ◽  
M. Teresa S. D. Vasconcelos

Minocycline, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, enrofloxacin and ceftiofur, commonly used veterinary pharmaceuticals, were searched in four urban, two livestock and two slaughterhouse effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the north of Portugal. A simple method that includes solid-phase extraction followed with analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector was established and applied to the simultaneous determination of the five pharmaceuticals in WWTP effluents. This method, which is expeditious, inexpensive and available in most laboratories, showed to be useful for screening for problematic levels of drugs in WWTP effluents. It is known that several livestock and slaughterhouse effluents (pre-treated or treated) are discharged to the urban network before discharge into the environment. The presence of these drugs in such effluents can constitute a significant environmental problem that should be addressed, by the monitoring of these drugs and by implementation of methodologies that contribute to their decrease/elimination from wastewaters. Minocycline (≤6 μg L−1), oxytetracycline (≤7 μg L−1), tetracycline (≤6 μg L−1) and enrofloxacin (<2 μg L−1) could be detected and/or quantified in three urban effluents. Detectable levels of enrofloxacin (<2 μg L−1) and quantifiable levels of tetracycline (≤15 μg L−1) were found in the slaughterhouse effluents.


2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (7) ◽  
pp. 1602-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Long Pang ◽  
Peijie Yang ◽  
Jihong Zhao ◽  
Hongzhong Zhang

Organophosphate esters (OPs), widely used as flame retardants and plasticizers, are regarded as a class of emerging pollutants. The effluent of municipal wastewater treatment plants is generally considered to be the main contributor of OP pollution to the surface water. In this study, anoxic–oxic (AO) and University of Capetown (UCT) processes were selected to investigate the removal efficiency of OPs. The results indicated that the UCT process showed better removal efficiency than that of the AO process. For the chlorinated OPs, approximately 12.3% of tri(2-chloroethyl)phosphate and 11.8% of tri(chloropropyl)phosphate can be removed in the UCT process, which was 12% and 7.8% higher than that of the AO process. In contrast, non-chlorinated OPs, including tris(2-butoxyethyal)phosphate, triphenyl phosphate, and tributyl phosphate, were able to be removed in both processes, with the removal rate of 85.1%, 74.9%, and 29.1% in the AO process, and 88.4%, 63.6%, and 25.2% in the UCT process. Furthermore, linear correlation between the removal rate and logKow of OPs (r2 = 0.539) was observed in the AO process, indicating that OPs with high Kow value (e.g. tri(dichloropropyl)phosphate and triphenyl phosphate) are prone to be removed by adsorption on the residual activated sludge.


TAYACAJA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-28
Author(s):  
Adiel Álvarez Ticllasuca ◽  
Marco Curasma Matamoros ◽  
Estefani Sandoval Condori ◽  
Fernando Toribio Román

In this research removal efficiency was evaluated of organic pollutants of a biofilm and phytoremediation integrated system for municipal wastewater treatment in Huancavelica. A pilot plant consisting of a settler was installed that also retained oils and fats, a biological filter using as support material the calcareous stuff and a phytoremediation process with Nasturtium officinale (watercress) The hydraulic retention time was 5.5 hours and the flowrate of 0.011 L s -1, the evaluation was made of the proper functioning of processes by monitoring control parameters. The pollutant removal efficiency was determined by Student's "t" test (p <0.05). An average pH value of 7.57 and a temperature of 12.07 ° C were obtained, subsequently the measurement of BOD5 was initiated, obtaining maximum effluent values of 131 ppm and minimum values of 45 ppm and a removal efficiency of 44.8% was obtained, for COD. In total coliforms, fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli the removal was 66.67%, 94.59%, 81.22% and 72.12% respectively, oil and fat analysis was also performed and total suspended solids, however high removal efficiency was not obtained. It is concluded that the parameters of BOD5 and COD comply with the MPL for the effluents of municipal domestic wastewater treatment plants, while the rest of the parameters analyzed do not comply with the regulations. however high removal efficiency was not obtained. It is concluded that the parameters of BOD5 and COD comply with the MPL for the effluents of municipal domestic wastewater treatment plants, while the rest of the parameters analyzed do not comply with the regulations. however high removal efficiency was not obtained. It is concluded that the parameters of BOD5 and COD comply with the MPL for the effluents of municipal domestic wastewater treatment plants, while the rest of the parameters analyzed do not comply with the regulations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 63-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewelina Płuciennik-Koropczuk

Abstract Increased production and consumption of drugs influences the pollution pharmaceuticals. Recent years have seen a significant increase in the consumption of non-prescription medicines, among which, are a large group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Research conducted in Poland and abroad showed the presence of NSAIDs, both in treated wastewater in surface waters and drinking waters. One of the most frequently detected drugs in the environment is diclofenac, belongs to NSAID. Its concentration in surface waters range from 9 to 3363 ng/L. Traditional wastewater treatment plants are not specialized enough in removing the pharmaceuticals and their metabolites, and with purified wastewater are introduced into surface waters. Diclofenac concentrations in treated wastewater range from 0.29 to 2.5 μg/L, the average removal efficiency is about 40%.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Supaporn Phanwilai ◽  
Pongsak Noophan ◽  
Chi-Wang Li ◽  
Kwang-Ho Choo

Abstract Full-scale anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic (A2O) process is used worldwide for biological nutrient removal (BNR). However, operation parameters for nitrogen removals and information of microbial communities related to nitrogen removal in full-scale A2O wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) having low and high COD/TN ratios are not available. Based on the analysis of four full-scale A2O WWTPs, it is suggested that maintaining longer SRT of ≥ 30 day and DO of ≥ 0.9±0.2 mg-O2 L-1 is needed to improve nitrogen removal efficiency under low COD/TN ratio (≤ 3.7). On other hand, at high COD/TN ratio (≥ 4.2), DO level of ≥ 2.6 mg-O2 /L and typical SRT of 19‒ 25 days would be suggested. It was confirmed that phosphorus removal efficiency significantly improved under BOD/TP ratio of > 20 for A2O process in these full-scale WWTP. Microbial distribution analysis showed that ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) was abundant under conditions of low DO level, longer SRT, high temperature and low COD/TN ratio (≤ 3.7). Nitrosomonas sp. are mostly found in aerobic tank of full-scale A2O WWTPs. However, abundances of Nitrosomonas sp. are proportional to DO and NH4+ concentrations for WWTPs with high COD/TN ratio. Nitrosospira sp. are only found under operating condition of longer SRT for WWTPs with low COD/TN ratio. Abundances of Nitrobacter sp. are proportional to DO concentration and temperature rather than abundance of Nitrospira sp. Predominance of nosZ-type denitrifiers were found at low COD/TN ratio. Abundance of denitrifiers by using nirS genes was over abundance of denitrifiers by using nirK genes at high COD/TN ratios WWTPs.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document