Fate of selected drugs in the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for domestic sewage

The wide diffusion of Emerging Organic Micropollutants (EOMs) in the environment is receiving increasing attention due to their potential toxicological effects on living organisms. So far, the Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) have not been designed with the purpose to remove these contaminants; therefore, they can represent the major source of release into the environment both through the effluent and the wasted sludge. The fate of EOMs in the WWTPs is still not completely known; further investigations are therefore needed to assess if it is possible to exploit the existing treatment units to reduce EOM concentrations or which processes must be implemented to this purpose. Among the wide class of EOMs, the present study focused on the following drugs of abuse: amphetamine (AM), methamphetamine (MET), 11-nor-Δ9-THC-9carboxy (THC-COOH) and benzoylecgonine (BEG). Presence and removal efficiency of these drugs in the activated sludge tank of a WWTP for domestic sewage was investigated through analyses at both full-scale and laboratory scale. Determinations conducted in the full-scale WWTP highlighted that, among the searched drugs, AM was found to be the most abundant in the influent and effluent of the biological oxidation tank, while 11-nor-Δ9-THC-9carboxy was present at the lowest concentration. Some removal took place in the units prior to the oxidation tank, although the main reduction was observed to occur in the biological oxidation reactor. All the drugs showed a wide variability of the measured concentrations during the week and the day. Taking into account results from both full-scale observations and batch tests, removals in the biological reactor were found within the following ranges: 33–84% for AM, 33–97% for MET, 33–57% for BEG and 29–83% for THC-COOH. These removals were due to a combination of adsorption and biodegradation mainly, while volatilization did not play a significant role. Other processes, e.g. hydrolysis, were likely to occur. © 2017 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelber

Water use and water saving in Italian hospitals. A preliminary investigation

Aim. The aim of this work is to investigate about water use, wastage, saving and reuse in hospitals. Methods. An anonymous ad hoc questionnaire was tested in a sample of 36 public hospitals of Lombardy Region (21% of total public hospitals). Daily water consumption reported is on average equal to 481 m3, ranging from 30 to 2280 m3. There is a strong correlation between water consumption and number of hospital beds (p < 0.005). In 33 hospitals (92%) water consumption is measured and, among them, in about 48% more than one flow meter is installed; 86% consider “important” the reduction of water consumption and about 55% recognize that wastewater could be minimized within the structures. Discussion. There is consensus about the need to train health personnel and to implement technical measures to improve the water resources management, but initiatives to raise knowledge and awareness of health personnel have been promoted only in 10% of hospitals. Results. Results show not only a lack of awareness regarding water use and saving among the personnel in general, but also among heads of the hospitas’ technical office and energy managers as well. For this reason, it will be of interest to carry out this investigation at national level and also to develop recommendations to support and promote a safe reuse of water in all the hospitals

Mass balance of emerging organic micropollutants in a small wastewater treatment plant

Emerging organic micropollutants are compounds measured in water in μg/l or ng/l which may have long-term negative effects on both wildlife and humans. The purpose of this work was to perform a mass balance of emerging organic micropollutants on activated sludge tank and on secondary settling tank in a small wastewater treatment plant in the Municipality of Rome. The analytes monitored in this work were: Estrone (E1), 17β-Estradiol (E2) and 17α- Ethinylestradiol (EE2) for steroid hormones, 4-Nonylphenol (4-NP) and Bisphenol A (BPA) for substituted Phenols and Alkylphenols, Amphetamine (AM), Methamphetamine (MET), Benzoylecgonine (BEG) and 11-nor-Δ9-THC- 9carboxy (THC-COOH) for drugs of abuse. Mass balance on activated sludge tank showed that the emerging organic micropollutants removed were BPA (59%), EE2 (34%), AM (56%) and THCCOOH (35%). The processes occurring in the secondary settling tank were able to reduce 4-NP (26%), BPA (74%), E1 (82%), EE2 (93%), AM (44%), MET (80%), BEG (72%) and THC-COOH (39%). The residual amount of each substance was distributed between the effluent, the return sludge line and the excess sludge. Since the removal of emerging organic micropollutants was partial, the conventional wastewater treatment plant is not able to completely break down these substances. Accordingly, these compounds are found in water body potentially active and dangerous to wildlife and humans. © 201 WIT Press

I microinquinanti organici emergenti nelle acque. Il caso degli interferenti endocrini e delle sostanze ad uso terapeutico-d’abuso

La presente attività di ricerca ha avuto l’obiettivo di studiare il destino ed il comportamento di alcuni microinquinanti organici emergenti nelle acque reflue, con particolare riferimento alle due famiglie di composti considerate di maggiore e più recente interesse: gli interferenti endocrini (IE) e le sostanze ad uso terapeutico-d’abuso. Nel corso della sperimentazione sono stati monitorati il 4-Nonilfenolo (4-NP), il Bisfenolo A (BPA), l’Estrone (E1), il 17β-Estradiolo (E2) e il 17α-Etinilestradiolo per la famiglia degli Interferenti Endocrini; la Benzoilecgonina (BEG), l’Amfetamina (AM), la Metamfetamina (MET) e l’11-nor-9carboxy-Δ9-THC (THC-COOH) per la famiglia delle Sostanze ad uso terapeutico-d’abuso. In particolare l’attività sperimentale ha avuto l’obiettivo di individuare la presenza dei microinquinanti suddetti nelle acque reflue civili e le potenzialità di rimozione in un impianto di depurazione (sperimentazione in scala reale), nonché di individuare i processi di rimozione a carico di una vasca a fanghi attivi simulata in reattori batch (sperimentazione in scala di laboratorio). Il motivo per cui la sperimentazione in scala reale ha preceduto la sperimentazione in scala di laboratorio, in modo inverso rispetto ad un classico iter sperimentale, è direttamente collegato agli obiettivi delle due fasi e cioè verificarne prima la presenza nelle acque reflue e le efficienze di rimozione a carico di un convenzionale impianto a fanghi attivi e successivamente investigare nel dettaglio quali processi intervengono nella rimozione dei microinquinanti organici emergenti dalle acque reflue

Chapter Spread of Pathogens from Marine Cage Aquaculture - A Potential Threat for Wild Fish Assemblages Under Protection Regimes?

Artificial intelligenc

Fate of Some Endocrine Disruptors in Batch Experiments Using Activated and Inactivated Sludge

The fate of emerging organic micropollutants (EOMs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is still not fully determined, and further studies are still needed to assess whether the existing treatment units can be further exploited (e.g., by modifying the operating parameters) or new and different techniques have to be implemented for their removal. The present study investigates the fate of a class of EOMs, i.e., the endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), in batch-activated sludge tests under mixed and aerated conditions, as those usually adopted in full-scale WWTPs. Among the EDCs, the research focused on: bisphenol A, 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), and two natural EDCs—estrone (E1) and 17β-estradiol (E2). By applying different operating conditions to the tests, it was possible to distinguish between contributions due to volatilization, adsorption onto the sludge flocs, and biodegradation to the overall removal of each EDC. It was found that all the investigated EDCs were removed mainly by adsorption and biodegradation. Starting from a relatively high concentration (1000 ng/L), the removal process was capable of reducing the influent load to very low values within the duration of the test (i.e., 48 h). Kinetics of the removal process were found to be best fitted by the pseudo-second-order model for all the investigated EDCs; the values of the relative constants were always found to be equal to about 0.0023 1/h. Furthermore, the values of the coefficients KD and KOM were determined and found to be comparable with the data reported by the specialized literature

Mezzi reattivi a basso costo per la rimozione di Ferro e Manganese da acque sotterranee contaminate

L’attività sperimentale ha avuto lo scopo di verificare le prestazioni di mezzi adsorbenti a basso costo (corteccia di pino e abete) e tradizionali (carboni attivi granulari) per il trattamento delle acque sotterranee contaminate da ferro e manganese in barriere permeabili reattive. È stata valutata l’influenza della concentrazione dei contaminanti e di loro miscele, nonché della granulometria del mezzo reattivo. Al termine della sperimentazione per entrambi i contaminanti si sono ottenute efficienze di rimozione prossime al 100%, indipendentemente dalla granulometria dei materiali testati, fatta eccezione per l’abete che presenta prestazioni lievemente peggiori, essendo tuttavia il materiale a minore costo. Il processo di adsorbimento è stato rappresentato da un punto di vista matematico con le isoterme di Freundlich. Sono state inoltre eseguite prove di rilascio sul mezzo reattivo esausto, che hanno mostrato rilasciati trascurabili. Sono stati infine realizzati reattori colonnari, tuttora in esercizio, alimentati in continuo con una soluzione mista di ferro e manganese; in tali reattori è stata impiegata una miscela di abete (il materiale con le peggiori prestazioni ma più economico) e di carboni attivi granulari in proporzione 9:1 in volume, al fine di massimizzare le efficienze di rimozione ai minori costi