Concentration dependent degradation of pharmaceuticals in WWTP effluent by biofilm reactors.

Conventional wastewater treatment lacks the ability to remove many pharmaceuticals. This is leading to emissions to the natural aquatic environment, where these compounds pose a risk to the aquatic organisms. An advanced wastewater treatment technique that has shown promising results is Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors (MBBR). Initial degradation velocity and degradation rate constants of the pharmaceuticals are important parameters for designing an optimal MBBR system; however, the degradation efficiency varies across studies and one of the most plausible causes might be initial concentration. Thus, to verify the effect of initial concentration, the degradation of a mixture of 18 pharmaceuticals at different initial concentrations was studied. For this study MBBR's with very low BOD loading were used as they were conditioned with effluent water. The experiment was set up as a MBBR batch incubation, using effluent wastewater as medium, spiked with the 18 pharmaceuticals in seven different concentration levels (approximately 0-300 µg L-1). The degradation of 14 out of 18 pharmaceuticals was concentration-dependent. The initial degradation velocity of the pharmaceuticals was either proportional to the initial concentration or was following a typical Michaelis-Menten kinetic. The degradation velocity of one compound, i.e., sulfamethizole might have been inhibited at high concentrations. The degradation rate constants from single first-order fittings (KSFO) for some compounds deviated from the expected behavior at low concentrations (below 10 µg L-1). This is suggested to be caused by simplicity of the Michaelis-Menten model, not taking possible occurrence of co-metabolism and mass-transfer limitations into account at low concentrations. This study underlines the fact that K values cannot be interpreted without paying attention to the tested concentration level. Furthermore, it shows that the used MBBRs was able to handle high concentrations of pharmaceuticals, and that the most efficient removal occurs at concentrations above 100 µg L-1.

Removal of ozonation products of pharmaceuticals in laboratory Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors (MBBRs).

The major pathway of pharmaceuticals from urban applications to urban surface waters is via wastewater treatment plants. Ozonation is able to remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater effluents. However, during that reaction, ozonation products are formed. Some ozonation products were found to be persistent and have adverse effect on the environment. Moving bed bio reactors (MBBRs) were tested for the removal of the ozonation products of macrolide antibiotics and diclofenac at two different concentration levels 1 µg/L and 10 µg/L in laboratory reactors. It was found that the MBBRs are capable of degrading these compounds without back-transformation into the parent compounds. However, reaction rate constants and the degradation kinetics varied for different compounds and different concentrations. Depending on compound and conditions, the degradation reaction kinetics was found to follow either i) zero order ii) first order or iii) lag phase succeeded by first order. The study has proven that MBBRs have the potential to be efficient in polishing post ozonation treatment.

Temporal variations and trends in loads of commonly used pharmaceuticals to large wastewater treatment plants in Sweden, a case study (Ryaverket).

Loads of individual commonly used analgesics (ibuprofen, diclofenac), antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim), ß-blockers (atenolol, metoprolol, sotalol, propranolol) and neuroleptics (carbamazepine, citalopram) to a large-scale operating wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Sweden (Ryaverket) were studied by monitoring concentrations and flows during a 9-year period (2006-2015). Variations in loads due to sampling and possible errors in chemical analyses were estimated to be below 40%. The variations in loads were analyzed and discussed in terms of the design of collecting wastewater system as an integrated part of the water treatment at the WWTP as well as the prescription and use of individual pharmaceuticals. Trend analysis in daily loads of individual pharmaceuticals indicated an increase for diclofenac, no significant changes for ibuprofen and metoprolol and a decrease for the other pharmaceuticals. The latter was ascribed to a decrease in their prescription and use. The increase in loads of diclofenac was ascribed to its growing topical use not requiring prescription. In view of future regulations by the EU, growing loads of diclofenac to WWTPs and its low removal rates in WWTPs may require an upgrade of WWTPs to achieve quality standards for diclofenac in receiving waters.

Pristine Arctic: background mapping of PAHs, PAH metabolites and inorganic trace elements in the North-Atlantic Arctic and sub-Arctic coastal environment.

As the ice cap of the Arctic diminishes due to global warming, the polar sailing route will be open larger parts of the year. These changes are likely to increase the pollution load on the pristine Arctic due to large vessel traffic from specific contaminant groups, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A well-documented baseline for PAH concentrations in the biota in the remote regions of the Nordic Seas and the sub-Arctic is currently limited, but will be vital in order to assess future changes in PAH contamination in the region. Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) were collected from remote sites in Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway and Sweden as well as from urban sites in the same countries for comparison. Cod (Gadus morhua) was caught north of Iceland and along the Norwegian coast. Sixteen priority PAH congeners and the inorganic trace elements arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead were analysed in the blue mussel samples as well as PAH metabolites in cod bile. Σ16PAHs ranged from 28 ng/g dry weight (d.w.) (Álftafjörður, NW Iceland) to 480 ng/g d.w. (Ísafjörður, NW Iceland). Mussel samples from Mjóifjörður, East Iceland and Maarmorilik, West Greenland, contained elevated levels of Σ16PAHs, 370 and 280 ng/g d.w., respectively. Levels of inorganic trace elements varied with highest levels of arsenic in mussels from Ísafjörður, Iceland (79 ng/g d.w.), cadmium in mussels from Mjóifjörður, Iceland (4.3 ng/g d.w.), mercury in mussels from Sørenfjorden, Norway (0.23 ng/g d.w.) and lead in mussels from Maarmorilik, Greenland (21 ng/g d.w.). 1-OH-pyrene was only found above limits of quantification (0.5 ng/mL) in samples from the Norwegian coast, ranging between 44 and 140 ng/ml bile. Generally, PAH levels were low in mussels from the remote sites investigated in the study, which indicates limited current effect on the environment.