Distribution of degradation products of alkylphenol ethoxylates near sewage treatment plants in the lower Great Lakes, North America

2000 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 784-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin R. Bennett ◽  
Chris D. Metcalfe
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Alkylphenol Ethoxylates ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plants

Review of the Environmental Occurrence of Alkylphenols and Alkylphenol Ethoxylates

1999 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald T. Bennie
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Alkylphenol Ethoxylates ◽  
Environmental Matrices ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plants

Abstract Alkylphenol ethoxylates and, in particular, nonylphenol ethoxylates have found many industrial, commercial, institutional and household uses in Canada. These nonionic surfactants are very efficient and cost effective. Their widespread use has led to the detection of the parent surfactants and their degradation products in various environmental matrices. Alkylphenol ethoxylates can be degraded aerobically and anaerobically in natural environments and sewage treatment plants.. The resulting degradation products are more persistent, more toxic, more lipophilic, less water soluble and more estrogenic than their parent compounds. This article reviews the occurrence of nonylphenol polyethoxylates and their degradation products as well as octylphenol poly-ethoxylates and their degradation products. There is limited information available about the concentrations of these substances in their original product formulations. The highest levels of the degradation products, especially nonylphenol, occur in the anaerobically digested sludge of sewage treatment plants. Sludge from these sewage treatment plants may be used as an amendment to agricultural soils. Various sewage treatment plants have wide ranges of discharged effluent concentrations of these compounds — some appear to be very efficient at removing alkylphenolics from their effluent stream. Little information is available about the fate of these substances in their receiving environment, and environmental concentrations and bioaccumulation factors of these contaminants in aquatic biota. More research is required on the uptake, persistence and bioaccumulation of alkylphenolic metabolites in fish, mussels and other aquatic organisms

Quantification and characterization of β-lactam resistance genes in 15 sewage treatment plants from East Asia and North America

2011 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 1351-1358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Yang ◽  
Tong Zhang ◽  
Xu-Xiang Zhang ◽  
Da-Wei Liang ◽  
Ming Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Resistance Genes ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plants

Behavior of Nonionic Surfactants and Their Degradation Products in Sewage Treatment Plants and Rivers in Gunma.

2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 778-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akiyo MARUYAMA ◽  
Atsushi TOMIOKA ◽  
Yasunori ITO ◽  
Mari ASAMI ◽  
Takako AIZAWA
Keyword(s):  
Nonionic Surfactants ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plants

DISTRIBUTION OF ACIDIC AND NEUTRAL DRUGS IN SURFACE WATERS NEAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS IN THE LOWER GREAT LAKES, CANADA

2003 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 2881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris D. Metcalfe ◽  
Xiu-Sheng Miao ◽  
Brenda G. Koenig ◽  
John Struger
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plants

Butyltin and phenyltin compounds in eels (Anguilla anguilla)

2002 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 893-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Harino ◽  
S.C.M. O'Hara ◽  
G.R. Burt ◽  
N.D. Pope ◽  
B.S. Chesman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gall Bladder ◽  
Distribution Pattern ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Anguilla Anguilla ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plants ◽  
Thames Estuary ◽  
Low Levels

Tributyltin (TBT) and its degradation products, dibutyltin (DBT) and monobutyltin (MBT), together with triphenyltin (TPT), were investigated in eels from the Thames Estuary and the Weston Canal (Merseyside). Within individual eels, the concentrations of organotin (OT) compounds varied considerably between tissues. Tributyltin concentrations were highest in heart and gall bladder and lowest in muscle and gonad. Tributyltin was generally the most predominant of butyltin (BT) compounds present in eel tissues and DBT the least. Phenyltins were detected in eels from both locations, notably the Weston Canal where TPT was present up to 0.367 μg g−1 (as Sn) in liver samples. Concentrations of OTs in liver (and muscle) were independent of weight and length in the eel populations examined. In a survey of OTs in eel populations along the Thames Estuary hepatic TBT levels ranged from 0.066–0.347 μg g−1 dry wt (as Sn) in liver of eels and were generally highest in the mid-section of the estuary, resembling the distribution pattern of TBT in sediment. Proportions of TBT to total BTs were also elevated in eel from this section of the waterway, consistent with continuing inputs in this region, albeit at relatively low levels. Major sewage treatment plants are sited here and may represent a possible source.

Review of the Persistence of Nonylphenol and Nonylphenol Ethoxylates in Aquatic Environments

1999 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. James Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Degradation Products ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Nonylphenol Ethoxylates ◽  
Plant Design ◽  
Anaerobic Conditions ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plants ◽  
Nonylphenol Ethoxylate

Abstract Alkylphenol ethoxylates, in particular nonylphenol ethoxylates, are widely used nonionic surfactants that are discharged in high quantities to sewage treatment plants and directly to the environment in areas where there is no sewage or industrial waste treatment. This article reviews the treatability of nonylphenol ethoxylates and nonylphenol in sewage treatment plants and their persistence in aquatic environments. Nonylphenol ethoxylates can be biologically degraded in sewage treatment plants and in natural environments. Some of the degradation products, including nonylphenol, are more persistent than the parent surfactants and they are found in receiving waters of sewage treatment plants. Nonylphenol in particular is found at high concentrations in some sewage sludges that may be spread on agricultural lands. While some sewage treatment plants discharge significant amounts of nonylphenol ethoxylate degradation products in their final effluents and digested sludges compared to what enters the plant, others degrade nonylphenol ethoxylates more or less completely. The differences in treatment efficiency of such compounds and their degradation products among different sewage treatment plants have been attributed to the load of the surfactants in influent streams, plant design and operating conditions, and other factors such as temperature of treatment. The highest nonylphenol ethoxylate elimination rates were achieved in plants characterized by low sludge-loading rates and nitrifying conditions. In natural waters, it appears that parent nonylphenol ethoxylates are not persistent, but some degradation products may have moderate persistence, especially under anaerobic conditions. Recent results from mesocosm experiments indicate moderate persistence of nonylphenol in sediments, with half-lives of 28 to 104 days. Microbial acclimation to the chemicals is an important determinant of persistence vis-à-vis biodegradation. Sunlight photodegradation of such products is also likely important. Further research on the persistence in natural environments of the lower ethoxylate and carboxylate degradation products, as well as nonylphenol, is necessary. Based on the limited data available, nonylphenol and the lower ethoxylates and carboxylates are persistent in groundwater. They are also persistent in landfills under anaerobic conditions, but they do not appear to be persistent in soil under aerobic conditions. Recommendations are made for further research in order to more fully characterize the treatability of nonylphenol ethoxylates and their degradation products in sewage treatment plants and their persistence in the natural environment.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document