Occurrence and behavior of pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plants in eastern China

Abstract

The occurrence and removal efficiency of seven pharmaceuticals (norfloxacin, trimethoprim, roxithromycin, sulfamethoxazole, ibuprofen, diclofenac and carbamazepine) were determined in three sewage treatment plants (STPs) with anaerobic/anoxic/oxic, anoxic/oxic and oxidation ditches processes in Xuzhou City, Eastern China. The results showed that seven pharmaceuticals were detected in the influent samples with concentrations ranging from 93 to 2540 ng·L⁻¹. The removal of these substances among the three different STPs varied from 36 to 84%, with the highest performance obtained by the wastewater treatment works with tertiary treatment (sand filtration). Most of the compounds were removed effectively during biologic treatment while sand filtration treatment also made a contribution to the total elimination of most pharmaceuticals. The efficiency comparison of the three sewage treatment processes showed that the STP which employed anaerobic/anoxic/oxic was more effective to remove pharmaceuticals than the oxidation ditches and anoxic/oxic.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

pharmaceutical / anaerobic/anoxic/oxic / oxidation ditch / anoxic/oxic / removal efficiency

References

[1] Santos J L, Aparicio I, Alonso E. Occurrence and risk assessment of pharmaceutically active compounds in wastewater treatment plants. A case study: Seville city (Spain). Environment International, 2007, 33(4): 596–601

[2] Zhou J L, Zhang Z L, Banks E, Grover D, Jiang J Q. Pharmaceutical residues in wastewater treatment works effluents and their impact on receiving river water. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2009, 166(2–3): 655–661

[3] Sui Q, Huang J, Deng S B, Yu G, Fan Q. Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals, caffeine and DEET in wastewater treatment plants of Beijing, China. Water Research, 2010, 44(2): 417–426

[4] Vieno N, Tuhkanen T, Kronberg L. Elimination of pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plants in Finland. Water Research, 2007, 41(5): 1001–1012

[5] Kasprzyk-Hordern B, Dinsdale R M, Guwy A J. The removal of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disruptors and illicit drugs during wastewater treatment and its impact on the quality of receiving waters. Water Research, 2009, 43(2): 363–380

[6] Zorita S, Mårtensson L, Mathiasson L. Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals in a municipal sewage treatment system in the south of Sweden. Science of the Total Environment, 2009, 407(8): 2760–2770

[7] Choi K, Kim Y, Park J, Park C K, Kim M, Kim H S, Kim P. Seasonal variations of several pharmaceutical residues in surface water and sewage treatment plants of Han River, Korea. Science of the Total Environment, 2008, 405(1–3): 120–128

[8] Batt A L, Kim S, Aga D S. Comparison of the occurrence of antibiotics in four full-scale wastewater treatment plants with varying designs and operations. Chemosphere, 2007, 68(3): 428–435

[9] China’s per capita consumption of antibioticsis is ten times as many as the United States. Dazhong Daily, 2012 (in Chinese).

[10] Karthikeyan K G, Meyer M T. Occurrence of antibiotics in wastewater treatment facilities in Wisconsin, USA. Science of the Total Environment, 2006, 361(1–3): 196–207

[11] Clara M, Strenn B, Gans O, Martinez E, Kreuzinger N, Kroiss H. Removal of selected pharmaceuticals, fragrances and endocrine disrupting compounds in a membrane bioreactor and conventional wastewater treatment plants. Water Research, 2005, 39(19): 4797–4807

[12] Carballa M, Omil F, Lema J M, Llompart M, García-Jares C, Rodríguez I, Gómez M, Ternes T. Behavior of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and hormones in a sewage treatment plant. Water Research, 2004, 38(12): 2918–2926

[13] Xu W H, Zhang G, Li X D, Zou S C, Li P, Hu Z H, Li J. Occurrence and elimination of antibiotics at four sewage treatment plants in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), South China. Water Research, 2007, 41(19): 4526–4534

[14] Zwiener C, Frimmel F H. Short-term tests with a pilot sewage plant and biofilm reactors for the biological degradation of the pharmaceutical compounds clofibric acid, ibuprofen, and diclofenac. Science of the Total Environment, 2003, 309(1–3): 201–211

[15] Kanda R, Griffin P, James H A, Fothergill J. Pharmaceutical and personal care products in sewage treatment works. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 2003, 5(5): 823–830

[16] Li B, Zhang T. Biodegradation and adsorption of antibiotics in the activated sludge process. Environmental Science & Technology, 2010, 44(9): 3468–3473

[17] Göbel A, McArdell C S, Joss A, Siegrist H, Giger W. Fate of sulfonamides, macrolides, and trimethoprim in different wastewater treatment technologies. Science of the Total Environment, 2007, 372(2–3): 361–371

[18] Sim W J, Leel J W, Oh J E. Occurrence and fate of pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plants and rivers in Korea. Environmental Pollution, 2010, 158(5): 1938–1947

Acknowledgements

The study was financially supported by Jiangsu Province Environmental Monitoring Research Program (No. 1105) and Jiangsu Province Environmental Protection Research Program (No. 2013033).

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg