Occurrence of antibiotics in hospital, residential, and dairy effluent, municipal wastewater, and the Rio Grande in New Mexico

This study had three objectives: 1) determine occurrence of antibiotics in effluent from hospitals, residential facilities, and dairies, and in municipal wastewater 2) determine antibiotic removal at a large wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Albuquerque, NM, and 3) determine concentrations of antibiotics in the Rio Grande, which receives wastewater from the Albuquerque WWTP. Twenty-three samples of wastewater and 3 samples of Rio Grande water were analyzed for the presence of 11 antibiotics. Fifty-eight percent of samples had at least one antibiotic present while 25% had three or more. Hospital effluent had detections of sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, lincomycin, and penicillin G, with 4 of 5 hospital samples having at least one antibiotic detected and 3 having four or more. At the residential sampling sites, ofloxacin was found in effluent from assisted living and retirement facilities, while the student dormitory had no detects. Only lincomycin was detected in dairy effluent (in 2 of 8 samples, at 700 and 6600 ng/L). Municipal wastewater had detections of sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, and ofloxacin, with 4 of 6 samples having at least one antibiotic present and 3 having 3 or more. The relatively high concentrations (up to 35,500 ng/L) of ofloxacin found in hospital and residential effluent may be of concern due to potential genotoxic effects and development of antibiotic resistance. At the Albuquerque WWTP, both raw wastewater and treated effluent had detections of sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, and ofloxacin, at concentrations ranging from 110 to 470 ng/L. However, concentrations in treated effluent were reduced by 20% to 77%. No antibiotics were detected in the Rio Grande upstream of the Albuquerque WWTP discharge, and only one antibiotic, sulfamethoxazole, was detected in the Rio Grande (300 ng/L) below the WWTP.     

Effect of heat recovery from raw wastewater on nitrification and nitrogen removal in activated sludge plants

By recovery of heat from the raw wastewater in the sewer system, the influent temperature of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is reduced. This can have a negative effect on nitrification in the WWTP, since this process strongly depends on temperature. The analysis of the temperature regime in the WWTP of Zurich, Switzerland, revealed that in the cold season, the effluent temperature is about 0.7 degrees C higher than the influent temperature and that nitrification is not affected by a decrease of the influent wastewater temperature lasting for a couple of hours only, but is significantly affected by a longer lasting temperature decrease. Three diagrams were developed with a steady-state model, from which the consequences of a permanent temperature decrease on the nitrification safety factor, aerobic sludge retention time and total nitrogen removal can be evaluated. Using simulations with a dynamic model, calibrated for the Zurich WWTP, a quantitative relationship between the wastewater temperature and the ammonium effluent concentration was established. This relationship can, in combination with measured effluent concentrations of an existing WWTP, be used to predict the increase of the ammonium effluent concentration in this plant resulting from a permanent decrease of the wastewater influent temperature.     

The effect of primary sedimentation on full-scale WWTP nutrient removal performance

Traditionally, the performance of full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is measured based on influent and/or effluent and waste sludge flows and concentrations. Full-scale WWTP data typically have a high variance which often contains (large) measurement errors. A good process engineering evaluation of the WWTP performance is therefore difficult. This also makes it usually difficult to evaluate effect of process changes in a plant or compare plants to each other. In this paper we used a case study of a full-scale nutrient removing WWTP. The plant normally uses presettled wastewater, as a means to increase the nutrient removal the plant was operated for a period by-passing raw wastewater (27% of the influent flow). The effect of raw wastewater addition has been evaluated by different approaches: (i) influent characteristics, (ii) design retrofit, (iii) effluent quality, (iv) removal efficiencies, (v) activated sludge characteristics, (vi) microbial activity tests and FISH analysis and, (vii) performance assessment based on mass balance evaluation. This paper demonstrates that mass balance evaluation approach helps the WWTP engineers to distinguish and quantify between different strategies, where others could not. In the studied case, by-passing raw wastewater (27% of the influent flow) directly to the biological reactor did not improve the effluent quality and the nutrient removal efficiency of the WWTP. The increase of the influent C/N and C/P ratios was associated to particulate compounds with low COD/VSS ratio and a high non-biodegradable COD fraction.     

The removal of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disruptors and illicit drugs during wastewater treatment and its impact on the quality of receiving waters

A 5-month monitoring program was undertaken in South Wales in the UK to determine the fate of 55 pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disruptors and illicit drugs (PPCPs) in two contrasting wastewater plants utilising two different wastewater treatment technologies: activated sludge and trickling filter beds. The impact of treated wastewater effluent on the quality of receiving waters was also assessed.PPCPs were found to be present at high loads reaching 10 kg day⁻¹ in the raw sewage. Concentrations of PPCPs in raw sewage were found to correlate with their usage/consumption patterns in Wales and their metabolism. The efficiency of the removal of PPCPs was found to be strongly dependent on the technology implemented in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). In general, the WWTP utilising trickling filter beds resulted in, on average, less than 70% removal of all 55 PPCPs studied, while the WWTP utilising activated sludge treatment gave a much higher removal efficiency of over 85%. The monitoring programme revealed that treated wastewater effluents were the main contributors to PPCPs concentrations (up to 3 kg of PPCPs day⁻¹) in the rivers studied. Bearing in mind that in the cases examined here the WWTP effluents were also major contributors to rivers' flows (dilution factor for the studied rivers did not exceed 23 times) the effect of WWTP effluent on the quality of river water is significant and cannot be underestimated.     

Characterization of DOM as a function of MW by fluorescence EEM and HPLC-SEC using UVA,DOC, and fluorescence detection

To investigate the composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) as a function of apparent molecular weight (MW) by rapid analytical methods, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-size exclusion chromatography (SEC) was conducted with sequential on-line detectors consisting of UV, fluorescence, and quantitative DOC measurement. Fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectrophotometry was used to select wavelengths for the HPSEC on-line fluorescence system. The chosen peak maxima locations of excitation-emission wavelengths were 278-353 nm for protein-like substances and 337-423 nm for fulvic-like substances based on an analysis of EEM spectra for various samples and reference materials. This system provides quantitative and qualitative information on the specific MW components of DOM, including proportion of DOC (by DOC measurement), aromaticity (by comparison of UV and DOC measurements), and chemical properties (by fluorescence measurement). It further allows determination of organic matter characteristics (e.g., fulvic-like, protein-like, and polysaccharide-like substances) as a function of MW. Three types of samples (Irvine Ranch ground water (IRWD-GW), Barr Lake surface water (BL-SW), and Hawaii wastewater secondary effluent) were analyzed by the HPSEC-UVA-fluorescence-DOC system. These results were compared with fluorescence EEM for samples fractionated by HPLC-SEC. The DOM fraction in the high apparent MW range (over 10,000g/mol) consisted of polysaccharide-like substances for IRWD-GW and a mixture of polysaccharide-like/protein-like substances for BL-SW and wastewater secondary effluent. Minimal amounts of fulvic-like substances were found in the wastewater secondary effluent sample. The DOM fractions in a medium apparent MW range (5000-1000 g/M) showed higher aromaticity (fulvic in character) than any other fractions for all samples. For the DOM fraction in the low apparent MW range (below 680 g/M), additional aliphatic organic matter was found in IRWD-GW, while BL-SW contained protein-like processes. DOM plays an important role in drinking water and wastewater treatment processes. An enhanced HPSEC technique with multiple on-line detectors enables a better understanding of quantitative and qualitative DOM properties and can help to design and optimize water/wastewater treatment facilities.     

Municipal-treated wastewater reuse for plant nurseries irrigation

Results of an experiment aimed at assessing the possibility of reusing reclaimed wastewater for nursery ornamental plants are presented. Tests were carried out in Pistoia (Italy). A pilot plant for tertiary treatment (filtration and peracetic acid + UV disinfection) of the local wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent was set up. An experimental plot with six containerized ornamental species was irrigated with the tertiary effluent and growth and physiological parameters were monitored. A control plot irrigated with fertigated water (nutrient-enriched groundwater) was also set up in order to compare the plants response to different kinds of irrigation water. The refinery treatment by filtration and disinfection with Peracetic Acid (PAA) and UV together was very effective in bacteria removal. The value of 2 MPN of Total Coliforms in 100 ml set by Italian law (until June 2003) for unrestricted irrigation was constantly satisfied. Agronomic results indicate no major limitations to the use of a tertiary effluent as an irrigation source in an ornamental plant nursery. The nutrient content of the tertiary effluent was able to maintain good plant growth as well as fertigated water for most of the tested species.     

某再生水厂混凝/沉淀/过滤工艺的处理效果评估

某再生水厂的供水能力为10×104m3/d,采用混凝、沉淀、过滤工艺,原水为城市污水厂的二级处理出水.结合实际运行数据,分析了该工艺及其各单元对几种主要指标的去除效果.监测结果显示,该工艺对COD、SS、TP具有较好的去除效果,但对TN、BOD5的去除率较低,对此可在前端增加曝气生物滤池等单元加以解决.该研究对于污水再生处理工艺的选择具有指导意义.     

Fate of dissolved organic nitrogen in two stage trickling filter process

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) represents a significant portion of nitrogen in the final effluent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Biodegradable portion of DON (BDON) can support algal growth and/or consume dissolved oxygen in the receiving waters. The fate of DON and BDON has not been studied for trickling filter WWTPs. DON and BDON data were collected along the treatment train of a WWTP with a two-stage trickling filter process. DON concentrations in the influent and effluent were 27% and 14% of total dissolved nitrogen (TDN). The plant removed about 62% and 72% of the influent DON and BDON mainly by the trickling filters. The final effluent BDON values averaged 1.8 mg/L. BDON was found to be between 51% and 69% of the DON in raw wastewater and after various treatment units. The fate of DON and BDON through the two-stage trickling filter treatment plant was modeled. The BioWin v3.1 model was successfully applied to simulate ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, TDN, DON and BDON concentrations along the treatment train. The maximum growth rates for ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria, and AOB half saturation constant influenced ammonia and nitrate output results. Hydrolysis and ammonification rates influenced all of the nitrogen species in the model output, including BDON.     

化工农药废水处理提标改造工程设计与实践

湖南某化工农药产业基地污水处理厂提标改造工程处理规模为2.0×10^4 m^3/d,在充分分析现有污水厂处理工艺、进出水指标以及运行状况的基础上,采用高级氧化前置预处理+强化生化+后置高级氧化+深度处理工艺进行提标改造,出水水质稳定达到《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》(GB 18918-2002)的一级A标准,直接运行费用为8.004元/m^3。     

Pharmaceutical compounds in the wastewater process stream in Northwest Ohio

In order to add to the current state of knowledge regarding occurrence and fate of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCP's) in the environment, influent, effluent and biosolids from three wastewater treatment facilities in Northwest Ohio, USA, and a stream containing effluent discharge from a rural treatment facility were analyzed. The three WWTP facilities vary in size and in community served, but are all Class B facilities. One facility was sampled multiple times in order to assess temporal variability. Twenty compounds including several classes of antibiotics, acidic pharmaceuticals, and prescribed medications were analyzed using ultrasonication extraction, SPE cleanup and liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The highest number of compounds and the greatest concentrations were found in the influent from the largest and most industrial WWTP facility. Short-term temporal variability was minimal at this facility. Many compounds, such as clarithromycin, salicylic acid and gemfibrizol were found at concentrations more than one order of magnitude higher than found in the effluent samples. Effluent waters contained elevated levels of carbamazepine, clindamycin and sulfamethoxazole. Differences in composition and concentration of effluent waters between facilities existed. Biosolid samples from two different facilities were very similar in PPCP composition, although concentrations varied. Ciprofloxacin was found in biosolids at concentrations (up to 46 mug/kg dry mass) lower than values reported elsewhere. Diclofenac survived the WWTP process and was found to persist in stream water incorporating effluent discharge. The low variability within one plant, as compared to the variability found among different wastewater treatment plants locally and in the literature is likely due to differences in population, PPCP usage, plant operations and/or local environment. These data are presented here for comparison with this emerging set of environmental compounds of concern.     

Spatial and temporal variations in the occurrence of cocaine and benzoylecgonine in waste- and surface water from Belgium and removal during wastewater treatment

Estimates of cocaine consumption are currently resulting from population surveys, consumer interviews and crime statistics. A new approach (“sewage epidemiology”) based on the analysis of cocaine (COC) and its metabolite, benzoylecgonine (BE), in water samples was applied to 10 river sites and 30 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Belgium. Each river site was sampled twice, during the summer of 2007 and the winter of 2007-2008, while each WWTP was sampled on a Sunday and a Wednesday, during the summer-autumn of 2007 and the winter of 2007-2008. This sampling strategy allowed for the evaluation of spatial and seasonal variations in the occurrence of COC and BE in waste- and surface water. WWTP Brussel-Noord was sampled for 19 consecutive days to evaluate daily and weekly variations in the presence of COC and BE in wastewater. For 7 WWTPs, influent and effluent water samples were collected to investigate the removal of COC and BE during the wastewater treatment process. Analysis of water samples was performed using solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Measured concentrations were further converted into an amount of used cocaine, called cocaine equivalents, as previously described in the literature. Results showed no significant difference in cocaine use between the investigated seasons. A constant cocaine consumption was observed during the week (Monday-Friday) with peaks during the weekend for WWTP Brussel-Noord. The COC/BE ratio in water samples was significantly higher during winter, most probably due to a slower hydrolysis of cocaine in low-temperature water. COC and BE were removed in the investigated WWTPs with a removal efficiency of >93%.     

污水处理厂氧化沟曝气系统改造

某采用Orbal氧化沟工艺的污水处理厂,采用转碟表面曝气,由于设备老化导致运行效率低、能耗较高。后将原有的表面曝气改造为底曝+推流的曝气形式。为不影响污水处理厂正常运行,改造采用可提升的管式曝气器。改造后的污水处理厂出水水质稳定达到一级A排放标准,平均每月节省电耗约34×10⁴k W·h,大大降低了污水处理厂运营成本。     

O3 and UV/O3 oxidation of organic constituents of biotreated municipal wastewater

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the biotreated effluent of a municipal wastewater treatment plant was separated by XAD-8 and XAD-4 resins into four fractions: hydrophobic acids, non-acid hydrophobics, transphilics and hydrophilics. Ozonation with and without ultraviolet (UV) enhancement removed most UV-absorbing substances in the first 30 min achieving 78% and 63% reduction in UV254, respectively; the UV enhancement resulted in a greater reduction in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (90% vs. 36%). Ozone reacted sequentially with aromatic hydrophobics, transphilics, and then hydrophilics; however, under UV, it reacted with all four organic fractions simultaneously. Low-MW hydrophilics were the most abundant fraction in the ozone-treated effluent.     

锦州港污水处理厂改扩建工程设计实例

锦州港污水处理厂主要处理船舶压载废水,原废水处理工程仅对废水中的油进行了处理.对污水处理厂升级改造后,根据原水电导率将废水分为海水压载水和淡水压载水,并采用不同处理工艺进行处理,出水COD、BOD5、SS、NH3-N和油浓度都能稳定达到<辽宁省污水综合排放标准>(DB 21/1627-2008).     

Occurrence and seasonal variations of Giardia in wastewater and river water from Al-Jinderiyah region in Latakia,Syria

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the occurrence and concentration of Giardia cysts in wastewater and river water samples in Al-Jinderiyah region, Latakia, Syria. A total of 120 samples were collected between October 2016 and October 2017 from influent and effluent of Al-Jinderiyah Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) and from three contaminated river water sites. Samples were concentrated and subjected to microscopic examination. The results show that the concentrations of cysts ranged from 0 to 297 cysts/L in wastewater samples. The overall removal efficiency of cysts in the activated sludge WWTP was 84.35%. The concentrations of cysts ranged from 0 to 128.52 cysts/L in river water samples. The highest concentration in river water was recorded near the raw wastewater discharge point. Seasonal variations of Giardia cysts concentration were significant, and the highest concentrations were recorded in the rainy season. The results suggest that Giardia may pose a public health risk in the studied region.     

Treating wastewater from a pharmaceutical formulation facility by biological process and ozone

Wastewater from a pharmaceutical formulation facility (TevaKS, Israel) was treated with a biological activated-sludge system followed by ozonation. The goal was to reduce the concentrations of the drugs carbamazepine (CBZ) and venlafaxine (VLX) before discharging the wastewater to the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Both drugs were detected at extremely high concentrations in TevaKS raw wastewater ([VLX] = 11.72 ± 2.2 mg/L, [CBZ] = 0.84 ± 0.19 mg/L), and resisted the biological treatment. Ozone efficiently degraded CBZ: at an O₃ dose-to-dissolved organic carbon ratio of 0.55 (O₃/DOC), the concentration of CBZ was reduced by >99%. A lower removal rate was observed for VLX, which was decreased by ～98% at the higher O₃/DOC ratio of 0.87. Decreasing the pH of the biologically treated effluent from 7 to 5 significantly increased the ozone degradation rate of CBZ, while decreasing the degradation rate of VLX. Ozone treatment did not alter the concentration of the effluent's DOC and filtered chemical oxygen demand (COD_f). However, a significant increase was recorded (following ozonation) in the effluent's biological oxygen demand (BOD₅) and the BOD₅/COD_f ratio. This implies an increase in the effluent's biodegradability, which is highly desirable if ozonation is followed by a domestic biological treatment. Different organic byproducts were formed following ozone reaction with the target pharmaceuticals and with the effluent organic matter; however, these byproducts are expected to be removed during biological treatment in the municipal WWTP.     

处理水AGP值对受纳河流水质的影响

结合藻类增殖潜能试验(AGP试验)探讨了进行污水深度处理的必要性。试验结果表明,污水厂排水的AGP值在94～400mg/L,会导致受纳水体产生富营养化,因此需对污水进行深度处理以去除氮和磷,并加强对流域的水质管理。     

Treatability of organic fractions derived from secondary effluent by reverse osmosis membrane

Dissolved organic matters (DOMs) from two batches of secondary effluent collected from a local water reclamation plant were fractionated using column chromatographic method with non-ionic resins XAD-8, AG MP-50 and IRA-96. Seven isolated fractions were obtained from the fractionation study and these fractions were quantified using DOC, UV(254) and SUVA values. The fractionation study revealed that the secondary effluent samples comprised about 47.3-60.6% of hydrophobic and 39.4-52.7% of hydrophilic solutes. The treatability of each isolated fraction was investigated by subjecting each fraction to reverse osmosis (RO) treatment individually. It was noted that RO process could achieve high DOC rejections for acid and neutral fractions (ranging from 80% to 98% removal) probably due to the negative charge of RO membrane. The results obtained also indicated that hydrophobicity of DOMs is significant in determining treatability of organic species by RO process. The performance of RO in terms of DOC rejection of un-fractionated secondary effluent was also investigated to assess possible effects of interactions among organic fractions on their treatability by RO process. It was noted that DOC rejection associated with the un-fractionated secondary effluent was generally higher (ranging from 2% to 45%) than the corresponding rejection obtained from each individual fraction isolated from the secondary effluent. This finding suggested there is a beneficial interaction among the fractions that in turn has contributed towards a better overall DOC rejection performance by RO treatment.     

工艺优化诊断技术用于污水厂的改造

随着污水排放标准不断提高,污水厂需改造处理工艺以满足稳定达标排放的要求,同时还需进行工艺优化以降低运行成本、节省基建费用和运行费用.对上海市曲阳、松江污水厂现有处理工艺做了优化诊断,主要采用系统分析方法通过现场考察、大规模数据收集、利用国际水协活性污泥模型（ASM2D）等工具,建立了符合污水厂实际运行状况的水质模型,全面评价了两厂目前的工艺状况和瓶颈所在,对几种可能的工艺改造方案进行了定量模拟预测,提出了能确保达标的改造设计工艺和优化方案.该项目为老厂工艺改造提供了一套完整的技术方案和工作流程,使老厂改造工艺具有脱氮除磷功能,出水水质能稳定达标,并预计工艺诊断优化成果的具体实施可为污水厂节省一次性基建费用10%～30%和运行费用15%～40%.     

Net changes in nutrient concentrations below a point source input in two streams draining catchments with contrasting land uses

We examined net changes in ammonium-Nitrogen (NH(4)(+)-N), nitrate-Nitrogen (NO(3)(-)-N), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) chloride-corrected ambient concentrations along a reach located below a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) input in a non-agricultural (12 dates) and an agricultural (6 dates) stream. Based on those net changes, we estimated processing length (Snet) and mass transfer coefficient (Vf) of the cited nutrients. In the agricultural stream, results suggest that diffuse nutrient inputs from adjacent agricultural fields had a greater effect on water chemistry than the WWTP input, and probably overwhelmed the stream capacity to retain and transform nutrients. In the non-agricultural stream we observed consistent longitudinal trends below the WWTP input only for NH(4)(+)-N and NO(3)(-)-N. The tight coupling between longitudinal NH(4)(+)-N decreases and NO(3)(-)-N increases in the non-agricultural stream, and lack of longitudinal trends of DIN on most dates suggest that NH(4)(+)-N from the WWTP input was being nitrified along the reach. These results suggest that WWTP inputs favor conditions to support hot spots for chemoautotrophic activity.