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Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering

ISSN 2095-2201

ISSN 2095-221X(Online)

CN 10-1013/X

Postal Subscription Code 80-973

2018 Impact Factor: 3.883

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Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.    2015, Vol. 9 Issue (4) : 725-730    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-014-0661-1
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Occurrence and behavior of pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plants in eastern China
Juan DU1,2, Yu FAN2, Xin QIAN1()
1. The State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
2. Xuzhou Research Institute of Environmental, Xuzhou 221002, China
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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.
Keywords pharmaceutical      anaerobic/anoxic/oxic      oxidation ditch      anoxic/oxic      removal efficiency     
Corresponding Author(s): Xin QIAN   
Online First Date: 21 February 2014    Issue Date: 25 June 2015
 Cite this article:   
Juan DU,Yu FAN,Xin QIAN. Occurrence and behavior of pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plants in eastern China[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2015, 9(4): 725-730.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-014-0661-1
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2015/V9/I4/725
STP daily flow /(m3× 103) PE HRTa/h B/C temperature/°C wastewater sources secondary treatment tertiary treatment
A 100 600000 12–15 0.28–0.45 16–26 sewage+ industrial (8:2) A2/Ob SFc
B 20 120000 18–22 0.3–0.5 14–24 sewage+ industrial (9:1) ODd –
C 30 180000 17 0.4–0.6 13–25 sewage A/Oe –
Tab.1  Information of the studied sewage treatment plants
STP COD/(mg·L−1) NH4-N/(mg·L−1) SS/(mg·L−1) TP/(mg·L−1) pH temperature/°C
A 180–260 22–36 50–65 6–11 6.0–7.5 16–26
B 175–280 16–32 45–72 4–9 6.2–7.6 14–24
C 210–290 18–28 68–80 4–7 6.5–7.4 13–25
Tab.2  Description of the wastewater characteristics in the influent of STPs
mode compound cone voltage/V precursorion (m/z) production (m/z) recovery±SD/% LOD/(ng·L–1) LOQ/(ng·L–1)
positive Norfloxacin 28 320.2 276.2 65±13 5 10
Trimethoprim 33 444.9 154.1 79±8 5 15
Roxithromycin 29 837.3 158.8 72±8 8 20
Sulfamethoxazole 22 253.9 156.1 85±10 6 14
Carbamazepine 30 237.1 194.2 93±7 20 60
negative Ibuprofen 15 205.1 161.1 96±9 8 20
Diclofenac 16 293.8 250.2 87±5 6 20
Tab.3  Monitored ions, recoveries of the target analytes and their limits of quantification (LOQ) in sewage water.
class name Abbr. formula MWa log Kow reference
antibiotic Norfloxacin NOR C16H18FN3O3 319.3 −1.03 6
antibiotic Trimethoprim TRI C22H26N2O9 290.3 0.91 7
antibiotic Roxithromycin ROX C41H76N2O15 837.1 2.75 18
antibiotic Sulfamethoxazole SMX C10H11N3O3S 253.3 0.89 7
NSAIDb Ibuprofen IBP C13H18O2 206.2 3.97 6
NSAIDb Diclofenac DCF C14H11Cl2NO2 296.2 4.51 6
antiepileptic Carbamazepine CBZ C15H12N2O 236.3 2.45 18
Tab.4  Properties of the target pharmaceuticals and their limits of quantification (LOQ) in wastewater
STPs Sample a NOR TRI ROX SMX IBP DCF CBZ
STP-A CINb 23±9 815±58 127±21 370±56 2540±127 1693±302 965±73
CPEFc 68±12 640±42 105±18 446±35 2193±370 1780±210 836±97
CSEFd 42±7 338±27 65±13 510±47 496±45 652±35 1220±215
CFEFe <10 210±15 <20 395±26 290±28 558±69 850±208
STP-B CIN 165±10 470±39 158±32 549±43 2185±329 860±102 729±215
CSEF 57±7 539±41 50±9 678±84 554±47 425±29 1047±188
STP-C CIN 273±21 368±27 93±20 612±56 1970±175 1275±357 1340±345
CSEF 84±13 183±12 47±8 435±39 732±64 720±36 1455±336
Tab.5  Concentrations (ng·L–1) of different pharmaceuticals in the influent and effluent of STPs
Fig.1  Efficiency of pharmaceuticals removal during conventional wastewater treatment calculated for samples collected in raw and biologic treated wastewater from STP A, B and C
Fig.2  Removal efficiencies of selected pharmaceuticals at the investigated STP A during primary, secondary and tertiary treatment
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