Biodegradation of trace pharmaceutical substances in wastewater by a membrane bioreactor

Abstract

The biodegradation of selected pharmaceutical micropollutants, including two pharmaceuticals with argued biodegradation, was studied by a lab-scale membrane bioreactor. The reaction kinetics and affecting factors were also investigated in this paper. Clofibric acid (CA) with contradictive biodegradation reported was degraded almost completely at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) after adaptation to microorganisms. The biodegradation of CA was disturbed at low pH operation, while the activity of microorganisms recovered again after pH adjustment to neutral condition. Ibuprofen (IBP) degraded under neutral and acidic conditions. Removals of IBP and CA were zero-order and first-order reactions under high and low initial concentrations, respectively. Carbamazepine and diclofenac were not degraded regardless of HRTs and pH.

Keywords

pharmaceuticals / membrane bioreactor / activated sludge / reaction kinetics

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Tokyo Tech UNESCO International Research Course for the Environment (2006-2007). We were indebted to Tokyo Institute of Technology for providing help to conduct this work. We were also grateful to Dr. Oh Hee-Kyong for her invaluable help at the beginning of the experiment.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg