Occurrence and reduction of pharmaceuticals in the water phase at Swedish wastewater treatment plants

During the last decade, several screening programs for pharmaceuticals at Swedish wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been conducted by research institutes, county councils, and wastewater treatment companies. In this study, influent and effluent concentrations compiled from these screening programs were used to assess the occurrence and reduction of non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals for human usage. The study is limited to full-scale WWTPs with biological treatment. Based on the data compiled, a total of 70 non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals have been detected, at concentrations ranging from a few ng/L to several μg/L, in the influent water. The influent concentrations were compared with the sale volumes and for many pharmaceuticals it was shown that only a small fraction of the amount sold reaches WWTPs as dissolved parent compounds. Pharmaceuticals with low reduction degrees at traditional WWTPs were identified. Further comparison based on the biological treatment showed lower reduction degrees for several pharmaceuticals in trickling filter plants compared with activated sludge plants with nitrogen removal.     

SHARON process evaluated for improved wastewater treatment plant nitrogen effluent quality.

New stricter nitrogen effluent standards and increasing influent loads require existing wastewater treatment plans (WWTPs) to extend or optimize. At WWTPs with limited aeration capacity, limited denitrification capacity or shortage of aerobic sludge age, implementation of SHARON to improve nitrogen effluent quality can be a solution. SHARON is a compact, sustainable and cost-effective biological process for treatment of nitrogen-rich rejection waters. At WWTP Rotterdam-Dokhaven and WWTP Utrecht a SHARON has been in operation for several years. For both WWTPs the effect of SHARON on the nitrogen effluent quality has been evaluated. WWTP Rotterdam-Dokhaven has limited aeration capacity. By implementation of SHARON, the ammonia load of the effluent was reduced by 50%. WWTP Utrecht had limited denitrification capacity. The implementation of SHARON improved the effluent nitrate load by 40%. The overall TN removal efficiency increased from 65% to over 75% and strict nitrogen effluents standards (TN = 10 mg N/l) could be reached. Through modelling and supported by full scale practice it has been shown that by implementation of SHARON in combination with enhanced influent pre-treatment, the aerobic sludge age can be extended to maintain total nitrogen removal at lower temperatures.     

Biological treatability of raw and ozonated synthetic penicillin formulation effluent.

Chemical pre-treatment of synthetic Procaine Penicillin G (PPG) effluent with ozone (applied dose = 1440 mg/h; treatment duration = 60 min) at pH = 7 was investigated. Successive biological treatability studies were performed with raw, ozonated penicillin formulation effluent and synthetic readily biodegradable substrate as simulated domestic wastewater. The PPG effluent additions were adjusted to constitute approximately 30% of the total COD in the reactor. Ozonation of PPG effluent resulted in practically complete removal of the parent pollutant accompanied by 40% COD abatement. Speaking for the raw PPG effluent, prolonged acclimation periods were necessary to obtain significant COD removal efficiencies. Batch activated sludge treatment experiments and respirometric studies have demonstrated that the selection of true retention time is extremely crucial for having high amount of slowly hydrolysable substrate or complex wastewater, like pharmaceutical effluent. The effect of ozonation time on biological treatability performance of PPG has been evaluated in the study. Pre-ozonation of PPG effluent did not improve its ultimate biodegradability.     

Relevance of the sludge retention time (SRT) as design criteria for wastewater treatment plants for the removal of endocrine disruptors and pharmaceuticals from wastewater.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) represent a significant source for the input of micro pollutants as endocrine disruptors (EDs) or pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) into the aquatic environment. Treatment efficiency of WWTPs often is reported, taking into account only inflow and effluent concentrations without further specification of the WWTP investigated. In order to allow comparison and evaluation of the removal efficiency of different layouts and concepts in wastewater treatment, additional information like the sludge retention time (SRT) and sludge load (F/M ratio) are necessary. Presented results from different WWTPs show correlation of removal of EDs and PhACs to the SRT. Compared to WWTPs with high F/M ratio implementation of the nitrification process on WWTPs results in a significant increase of the removal efficiency for EDs and PhACs. This paper describes an approach to determine comparable removal rates for different activated sludge systems based on mass balance and SRT.     

Analysis and occurrence of estrogen in wastewater in Japan.

This paper describes an analytical procedure for free estrogens and their conjugates in domestic wastewater. The procedure demonstrated in this study is innovative in terms of levels of detection and quantification of the following substances: estrone (E1); 17beta-estradiol (E2); 17alpha-ethynylestradiol (EE2); estriol (E3); estrone-3-sulfate (E1-S); beta-estradiol 3-sulfate (E2-S); estriol 3-sulfate (E3-S); estrone beta-D-glucuronide (E1-G); beta-estradiol 17-(beta-D)-glucuronide (E2-G); estriol 3-(beta-D)-glucuronide (E3-G); beta-estradiol 3-sulfate 17-glucuronide (E2-SandG); and estradiol 3,17-disulfate (E2-diS). The detection limits of this method ranged from 0.1 to 1.4 ng/l. The recovery efficiencies of the estrogens in the analysis from influent and effluent of the secondary settling tank in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) were higher than 94% for the free estrogens, but were less than 50% for the conjugated estrogens. The field study using this method was conducted at twenty WWTPs in Japan. The median concentrations of the estrogens ranged from ND to as high as >100 ng/l. In the influent and secondary effluent samples, the concentrations of E1, E2 and E3 were the same levels as those previously reported. We found that the conjugated estrogens exist at higher concentrations in the influent and the secondary effluent than in the other studies, and that the concentrations of the conjugated estrogens were higher than those of the free estrogens.     

土壤过滤系统处理农村生活污水的 试验研究

采用一种土壤过滤系统处理农村生活污水,考察了该工艺对CODCr、BOD5、NH3-N、全氮（TN）和全磷（TP）的去除效果。实验结果表明,当水力负荷约为0.05 m3/（m2·d）, 水力停留时间为3 d时。该土壤过滤系统对CODCr、BOD5、NH3-N、全氮（TN）和全磷（TP）的去除效果较好,平均去除率分别达到84.6%、83.3%、64.3%、59.8%和70%。出水CODCr约为18.3~42.1 mg/L,BOD5约为8.9~17.3 mg/L,NH3-N约为11.2~17.7 mg/L,TN约为21.2~31.3 mg/L,TP小于2.0 mg/L,出水水质优于农田灌溉水质标准（GB 5084—2005）。气温变化和进水污染物浓度对处理效果影响明显。总体上来讲,温度大于22 ℃时,进水污染物浓度越低处理效果越好。     

Treatment of winery wastewater in a full-scale fixed bed biofilm reactor.

The treatment of winery wastewater was performed at full-scale applying a two-stage fixed bed biofilm reactor (FBBR) system for the discharge in the sewerage. The results of the first year of operation at the full-scale plant are presented. Values of removed organic loads and effluent concentrations were interpreted on the basis of the COD fractionation of influent wastewater assessed through respirometric tests. The average removal efficiency of total COD was 91 %. It was not possible to reach an higher efficiency because of the unbiodegradable soluble fraction of COD (about 10% of total COD on average during the whole year), that cannot be removed by biological process or settling. Due to the high empty space offered by the plastic carriers, FBBRs did not require backwashing during the seasonal operationing period of the plant (September-March). In comparison with other treatment systems the FBBR configuration allows one to ensure a simple management, to obtain high efficiency also in the case of higher fluctuations of flow and loads and to guarantee a good settleability of the sludge, without bulking problems.     

Removal efficiency of 66 pharmaceuticals during wastewater treatment process in Japan.

Both biological treatment processes including conventional activated sludge (CAS) and biological nutrient removal (BNR) processes, and physico-chemical treatment processes including ozonation process and Title 22 process consisting of coagulation, sedimentation and filtration followed by UV or chlorination disinfection after the above biological processes, were compared from the viewpoint of removal efficiency. 66 pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, analgesics, psychoneurotic agents were measured with SPE-LC/MS/MS. 26 compounds out of 66 were detected in the influent ranging ng/L to microg/L order. Particularly, disopyramide, sulpiride, and dipyridamole that have been rarely detected before in the WWTP, occurred at concentration levels of more than 100 ng/L. The total concentration of the individual pharmaceuticals in the influent was efficiently removed by 80% during the biological treatment. But removal efficiencies of carbamazepine and crotamiton were less than 30%. The total concentration of the individual pharmaceuticals in the effluent from CAS process was 1.5 times higher than that from BNR process. Further, the total concentration of the individual pharmaceuticals in the discharge from WWTPs applying ozonation following activated sludge process was reduced to less than 20%. Physico-chemical treatment train called Title 22 treatment after CAS could not efficiently remove the pharmaceuticals. However, ozonation process followed by biological activated carbon process could efficiently reduce all the residual pharmaceuticals below their quantification limits.     

微污染水库水处理工艺研究

通过中试,研究了生物预处理-常规处理-GAC(或O3-BAC)深度处理以及预加氯一常规处理-GAC(或O3-BAC)深度处理对微污染水库水的处理效果。结果表明,对于可生物降解性较好的原水,采用生物预处理可以明显地改善后续常规处理及深度处理的出水水质。对于氨氯、CODMn和UV254较高的水库水,处理工艺流程中应包括生物预处理或O3-BAC工艺。生物预处理-常规处理-GAC工艺的总处理效果好于预加氯-常规处理-O3-BAC工艺。此外,GAC能吸附氯仿、致突变物。当GAC再生周期过长时,出水的氯仿浓度高于进水,且Ames试验呈阳性。GAC的去臭有效期在16个月以上。     

Removal efficiency of pharmaceuticals and personal care products with varying wastewater treatment processes and operating conditions - conception of a database and first results.

We created a database in order to quantitatively assess the occurrence and removal efficiency of PPCPs in WWTPs. From 113 scientific publications, we compiled 5887 data on the concentrations and loads of PPCPs in WWTP influents and effluents, and on their removal efficiency. The first outputs of our database include: (1) a list of the most frequently studied molecules, their frequency of detection, their mean concentration and removal in liquid influent and effluent; (2) a comparison of the removal efficiency for different WWTP processes; (3) a study of the influence of the operating conditions (sludge and hydraulic retention times).     

Microbial sulphate reduction during anaerobic digestion: EGSB process performance and potential for nitrite suppression of SRB activity.

The present study investigated mesophilic anaerobic treatment of sulphate-containing wastewater in EGSB reactors and assessed the inclusion of nitrite in the reactor influent as a method for control of biological sulphate reduction. Two EGSB reactors, R1 and R2, were operated for a period of 581 days at varying volumetric loading rates, COD/SO4(2-) ratios and influent nitrite concentrations (R2 only). COD removal efficiencies of > 93% were achieved in both reactors at influent sulphate concentrations of up to 3,000 mg l(-1). A two-fold increase in the influent sulphate concentration, giving an influent COD/SO4(2-) ratio of 2, resulted in a reduction in reactor COD removal efficiency to 84% and 89%, in R1 and R2, respectively. Despite inclusion of nitrite in the R2 influent at concentrations up to 500 mg NO2-N l(-1), sulphate reduction proceeded similarly in R2 and R1, suggesting the ineffectiveness of nitrite as a potential inhibitor of SRB     

Comparison of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates removal in conventional activated sludge systems and membrane bioreactors.

The potential of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and a conventional activated sludge (CAS) system to remove polar micropollutants was evaluated using linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) as model components. Removal efficiencies over 97% were achieved in both reactor systems. The appearance of biological breakdown metabolites and the respirometric response of the sludges to LAS addition indicated that LAS removal was due to biodegradation, rather than sorption phenomena. The effect of operational variables, such as hydraulic retention time, LAS composition and hydrophobicity of the membrane used in the MBR, was negligible in the range tested. A stepwise increase in LAS influent concentration resulted in higher residual effluent concentrations but did not change the procentual removal efficiency. Because an increase in LAS and SPC effluent concentration occurred to a larger extent in the CAS than in the MBR under similar operating conditions, MBRs may turn out to be be more robust with respect to biological degradation of micropollutants than CAS.     

Removal of ibuprofen from wastewater: comparing biodegradation in conventional, membrane bioreactor, and biological nutrient removal treatment systems.

Pharmaceuticals are continually being introduced into the influent of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Developing a better understanding of pharmaceutical removal mechanisms within the different treatment processes is vital in preventing downstream contamination of our water resources. In this study, ibuprofen, a popular over-the-counter pain reliever, was monitored by taking wastewater samples throughout the City of Guelph municipal WWTP. Greater than 95% of ibuprofen was found to be removed in the aeration tank, with aerobic biodegradation being the dominant mechanism. For comparison, first-order kinetics were used to quantify ibuprofen biodegradation in a conventional WWTP aeration tank and in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) pilot plant. The rate constants, k biol, for the conventional tank and the MBR were determined to be (-6.8+/-3.3) L/g SS*d and (-8.4+/-4.0) L/g SS*d, respectively. These two rate constants were found to be statistically similar. Preliminary study of a biological nutrient removal pilot system also suggests that ibuprofen can be anaerobically degraded.     

Mathematical modelling of small wastewater treatment plants: power and limitations.

Although mathematical modelling of biological wastewater treatment processes has proved to be valuable for large-scale WWTPs (wastewater treatment plants) little experience has been acquired in the mathematical modelling of small wastewater treatment plants. This paper seeks to evaluate the applicability of mathematical modelling on small systems, which are characterized by high fluctuations in organic and hydraulic loads and little possibility for control. In order to achieve this, the paper examines the different steps in a general modelling protocol. One important bottleneck for the general use of mathematical modelling of small systems that emerges is the frequent sampling and many analyses needed for characterization of the flows while its applicability is limited. On the other hand, the determination of the model structure of a small WWTP can be quite valuable. Experiments show that tracer tests should include tests with a highly varying influent flow rate to spot independent small internal flows as these can have a significant impact on the behaviour of peak concentrations throughout the system. In addition, the model structure determination can provide useful information on dead zones, short-circuiting and mixing behaviour in the plant.     

Performance of an ultra-compact biofilm reactor treating domestic and synthetic wastewaters

The performance of an ultra-compact biofilm reactor (UCBR) treating domestic wastewater (DWW) collected from a local water reclamation plant; and gradually shifting to a mono-type carbon source synthetic wastewater (SWW) combined with DDW (CWW) and finally SWW; was investigated in this study. The total COD concentrations of influent DWW and CWW/SWW were 413.6 ± 80.8 mg/L and 454.9 ± 51.3 mg/L, respectively. The UCBR was able to achieve average total COD removal efficiencies of 70 ± 10% and 80 ± 4% for DWW and SWW respectively. The total COD concentrations of the effluent of DWW and CWW/SWW were 122.5 ± 44.4 mg/L and 89.7 ± 10.3 mg/L, respectively. These observations suggested that heterotrophs in the UCBR system were able to better assimilate and remove carbon of mono-type SWW compared to diverse carbon sources such as DWW; although the influent soluble COD concentrations of the SWW were higher than those of the DWW. However, the effluent NH(4)(+)-N concentrations for both types of wastewater were rather similar, <3.0 mg/L; although the influent NH(4)(+)-N concentrations of the DWW were 1.5 times those of the SWW.     

生物慢滤池用于污水深度处理的实验研究

利用生物慢滤池对人工模拟污水和西安市某污水处理厂的二级出水进行了深度净化处理实验,通过分析进出水中氮、磷含量和高锰酸盐指数及上层水和出水中的叶绿素a含量等指标,考察了生物慢滤池的净化效果。结果表明:生物慢滤池对人工模拟污水的处理效果较好,总氮、氨氮、总磷和高锰酸盐指数的去除率分别为66.4%、40.2%、66.4%和73.3%;深度净化污水厂二级出水,总氮、氨氮、总磷和高锰酸盐指数的去除率分别为35.1%、21.0%、30.2%和12.6%,去除率略低于人工模拟实验;生物慢滤池对叶绿素a有很好的截留效果,去除率分别为93.4%和66.4%;生物慢滤池处理后的再生水水质达到《城市污水再生利用景观环境用水水质》要求,可回用于城市景观水体,作为城市景观水体的补充水源,避免水体富营养化的发生。     

A comparison of BNR activated sludge systems with membrane and settling tank solid-liquid separation.

Installing membranes for solid-liquid separation into biological nutrient removal (BNR) activated sludge (AS) systems makes a profound difference not only to the design of the membrane bio-reactor (MBR) BNR system itself, but also to the design approach for the whole wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). In multi-zone BNR systems with membranes in the aerobic reactor and fixed volumes for the anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic zones (i.e. fixed volume fractions), the mass fractions can be controlled (within a range) with the inter-reactor recycle ratios. This zone mass fraction flexibility is a significant advantage of MBR BNR systems over BNR systems with secondary settling tanks (SSTs), because it allows changing the mass fractions to optimise biological N and P removal in conformity with influent wastewater characteristics and the effluent N and P concentrations required. For PWWF/ADWF ratios (fq) in the upper range (fq approximately 2.0), aerobic mass fractions in the lower range (f(maer) < 0.60) and high (usually raw) wastewater strengths, the indicated mode of operation of MBR BNR systems is as extended aeration WWTPs (no primary settling and long sludge age). However, the volume reduction compared with equivalent BNR systems with SSTs will not be large (40-60%), but the cost of the membranes can be offset against sludge thickening and stabilisation costs. Moving from a flow unbalanced raw wastewater system to a flow balanced (fq = 1) low (usually settled) wastewater strength system can double the ADWF capacity of the biological reactor, but the design approach of the WWTP changes away from extended aeration to include primary sludge stabilisation. The cost of primary sludge treatment then has to be offset against the savings of the increased WWTP capacity.     

曝气生物滤地在污水回用中去除氨氮的试验研究

采用曝气生物滤地(BAF)工艺处理某污水处理厂模拟二级出水,研究了水力负荷及滤料层高度对NH_3-N去除效果的影响.试验结果表明,当进水NH_3-N≤25 mg/L时,平均NH_3-N去除率达到93.12%,出水NH_3-N可降至3 mg/L以下.当水力负荷为1.44 m~3/(m~2·h),HRT为1.8 h时,氨氮的去除效果最好,去除率达到95.32%,出水NH_3-N在1.5 mg/L以下.BAF对NH_3-N的去除作用主要发生在滤料的中上层.     

厌氧附着膜膨胀床反应器处理乳品废水的研究

研究厌氧附着膜膨胀床反应器中温处理乳品废水的运行工况。讨论在不同水力停留时间、容积负荷、pH值条件下对COD去除率的影响,并对进出水总氮及氨氮的变化情况进行研究。试验表明:厌氧附着膜膨胀床反应器处理乳品废水,在水力停留时间为8h、中温35℃条件下,COD去处率达到80%以上,对总氮的去除约为8%,出水有机氮的氨化率达70%以上,ρ(BOD)/ρ(COD)由进水的0 5提高到0 8以上。     

Estimations of municipal point source pollution in the context of river basin management.

Integrated presentation of total emissions on catchment scale is prerequisite for many tasks in integrated management of point and diffuse sources of pollution. This paper will focus on emissions of nutrients from municipal point sources. Based on calculations of discharges of N, P from households into wastewater and on the detailed evaluation of data from 76 municipal wastewater treatments plants, this paper presents ranges of specific loads of inhabitants and population equivalents in the raw wastewater. In addition data of these treatment plants have been evaluated in respect of the treatment efficiency for nitrogen and phosphorus (average reduction rates) dependent on the design characteristic (with or without nitrification, denitrification or enhanced phosphorus removal). The results of the investigation show that the specific N and P loads from households in Austria lie within the range 1.6-2.0 g P/(inhabitant.d) and 11- 13 g N/(inhabitant.d). The specific contribution of industries to municipal wastewater varies between 0.3 and 2.0 gP/(pe.d) and 0 and 13 g N/(pe.d) with average values of 1.3 g P/(pe.d) and 6.5 g N/(population equivalent (pe)/d). As average values for municipal wastewater (contributions from household and industry) this leads to specific influent loads of 1.5 g P/(pe.d) and 8.8 g N/(pe.d). Average treatment efficiencies of treatment plants are for instance 50% nitrogen removal in treatment plants with nitrification and 80% in treatment plants with nitrification/denitrification. For phosphorus a removal of about 85% can be expected where the treatment plant was designed for enhanced phosphorus removal. Finally a method for load estimations based on standard values as mentioned above was tested for the estimation of emission from municipal point sources of selected regions.