Fate of indicator endocrine disrupting chemicals in sewage during treatment and polishing for non-potable reuse

2010 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 1416-1423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Holmes ◽  
Anu Kumar ◽  
Ali Shareef ◽  
Hai Doan ◽  
Richard Stuetz ◽  
...  

The removal and fate of several indicator endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) at two large municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Adelaide South Australia was investigated. Non-estrogens included the non-ionic surfactant breakdown compounds nonyl phenol mono- and di-ethoxylates, 4-t-octylphenol and 4-nonyl phenol; and, the plasticizer bisphenol A. Estrogens included 17β-estradiol; estrone; and, 17α-ethynylestradiol. Effluent from Bolivar WWTP is polished using stabilisation lagoons followed by coagulation, dissolved air flotation/filtration and chlorination for non-potable reuse. Biosolids from both plants is applied to agricultural land as a soil conditioner. Non-estrogen indicator EDCs were detected at the highest concentration in sewage, effluent and sludge but estrogen indicator EDCs contributed the greatest potential for estrogenicity. The fate of indicator EDCs at various treatment stages is complex and includes biochemical modification/transformation and/or partitioning to either solid or liquid phases. Activated sludge treatment was an important removal barrier achieving moderate—high removal of predicted and YES (a yeast screen assay) measured estrogen equivalent values (EEq). Combined polishing treatment achieved high removal of candidate EDCs (97%). Mass balance indicates that the largest source of estrogenicity discharged from both WWTPs investigated is digested sludge which accounts for 18 and 22% respectively of the combined predicted and YES measured EEq measured in sewage at the two WWTPs.

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 321-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Gallenkemper ◽  
T. Wintgens ◽  
T. Melin

Endocrine disrupting compounds can affect the hormone system in organisms. A wide range of endocrine disrupters were found in sewage and effluents of municipal wastewater treatment plants. Toxicological evaluations indicate that conventional wastewater treatment plants are not able to remove these substances sufficiently before disposing effluent into the environment. Membrane technology, which is proving to be an effective barrier to these substances, is the subject of this research. Nanofiltration provides high quality permeates in water and wastewater treatment. Eleven different nanofiltration membranes were tested in the laboratory set-up. The observed retention for nonylphenol (NP) and bisphenol A (BPA) ranged between 70% and 100%. The contact angle is an indicator for the hydrophobicity of a membrane, whose influence on the permeability and retention of NP was evident. The retention of BPA was found to be inversely proportional to the membrane permeability.


2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 600-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong-Heui Kwak ◽  
Ki-Cheol Lee

To remove phosphorus (P) from municipal wastewater, various types of advanced treatment processes are being actively applied. However, there is commonly a space limit in municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTPs). For that reason, the dissolved air flotation (DAF), which is well known for small space and flexible application process, is preferred as an additive process to enhance the removal of P. A series of experiments were conducted to investigate the feasibility of flotation scum recycling for effective P removal from a MWTP using a DAF pilot plant over 1 year. The average increases in the removal efficiencies due to flotation scum recycling were 22.6% for total phosphorus (T-P) and 18.3% for PO4-P. A higher removal efficiency of T-P was induced by recycling the flotation scum because a significant amount of Al components remained in the flotation scum. The increase in T-P removal efficiency, due to the recycling of flotation scum, shifted from the boundary of the stoichiometric precipitate to the equilibrium control region. Flotation scum recycling may contribute to improving the quality of treated water and reducing treatment costs by minimizing the coagulant dosage required.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
Vasile Ion Iancu ◽  
Jana Petre ◽  
Toma Galaon ◽  
Gabriel Valentin Serban ◽  
Marcela Niculescu ◽  
...  

Emerging contaminants are a heterogeneous group of chemicals that include daily personal care products and pharmaceuticals (PPCPs), flame retardants, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and nanoparticles (NPs) present in environment which are unregulated. In this review, we present the methods of analysis conducted by INCD-ECOIND regarding some classes of emerging contaminants (neonicotinoid pesticides, beta-blocker drugs) that are not regulated by the legislation, in different types of environmental samples (wastewater, surface water). The present review presents the selective solid-phase extraction (SPE) methods used for isolation of the targeted compounds from aqueous matrices and also the main instrumental parameters of the separation and detection process. After extraction, the compounds were subjected to liquid phase chromatographic separation with mass spectrometric detection (UHPLC-MS/MS). Finally, the methods were applied in the determination of compounds from different categories of water, carrying out studies on the efficiency of elimination of compounds in several municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In addition, the impact of the treatment plants on some receiving surface water used to obtain drinking water was studied.


1996 ◽  
Vol 34 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wipa Charles ◽  
Goen Ho ◽  
Ralf Cord-Ruwisch

Wool scouring effluent (WSE) contains high concentrations of wool grease emulsified by non-ionic surfactants (nonylphenol polyethoxylates – NPEO). The short-term treatment (1-7 days) of this effluent with anaerobic bacteria resulted in partial grease flocculation. However the efficiency of this process varied largely (30% to 80%) with the source of wool scouring effluent used. The concentration of free surfactant, rather than total surfactant, was found to be the likely reason for the variation in efficiency. In order to elucidate the mechanisms of anaerobic biological flocculation a detailed surfactant analysis was performed. This revealed that anaerobic microbes (taken from sludge of a municipal wastewater treatment plant) had an ability to partially degrade NPEO by shortening the hydrophilic ethoxylate chain causing coagulation and subsequent flocculation of wool grease from the liquor.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-91
Author(s):  
Y. Sakakibara ◽  
Y. Sena ◽  
M. Prosnansky

The\ performance of a novel 3-dimensional electrolytic cell reactor for the treatment of dilute solutions was investigated using different dyes (potassium indigotrisulfonate (PI), Orange 2 and Amaranth) and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Continuous experiments demonstrated that the present electrolytic cell reactor was able to directly oxidize the dyes on the surface of the electrode very quickly in response to a change in electric current. It is interesting to note that the energy consumption for the oxidation of PI and Orange 2 was significantly smaller than for the commercially available ozone generators. The electrolytic reactor was also successfully applied to the treatment of trace EDCs including 17β-estradiol, bisphenol-A, nonyl-phenol and chlorinated phenols.


2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanel M. Raney ◽  
M. Catherine Eimers

Long-term trends (1975–2010) in total phosphorus (TP) concentrations were evaluated at 113 stream stations across southern Ontario. Declines in TP were evident at the majority of sites (68%), including those both with (n = 49) and without (n = 64) upstream municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTP). Although declines in TP at stream stations downstream of MWWTPs may be attributed to improvements in P removal from treated effluent, declines at the remaining streams must be attributed to other causes. During the same time period, increases in chloride (Cl−) were observed at almost all (95%) of the 64 MWWTP-free stations. Over the past 35 years, urban land cover has increased at the expense of agricultural land area in Ontario, with the majority of these changes occurring in southern Ontario. The coincidence of declines in TP and increases in Cl− at the 64 MWWTP-free streams suggests that the two may be related, with P-rich agricultural fields being replaced with impervious surfaces and therefore increased road salt applications.


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