Non-antibiotics matter: Evidence from a one-year investigation of livestock wastewater from six farms in East China.

Livestock wastewater is an important source of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments; however, most related studies only focused on antibiotics. This study investigated 18 pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs), including 12 antibiotics and 6 non-antibiotics, in livestock wastewater during a one-year survey of six livestock farms in East China. The results showed that four non-antibiotic PhACs-caffeine, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, gemfibrozil, and diclofenac-exhibited high detection frequencies (80% to 97%), high concentrations (median 0.43 to 3.79 µg/L), poor removal efficiencies (3% to 53%), and high environmental risks. A ranking system was developed to prioritize PhACs based on their occurrence, removal, and environmental risks in livestock wastewater; diclofenac, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, sulfamethazine, sulfadiazine, and gemfibrozil, were identified as the top five priority PhACs that should be considered first. Finally, a preliminary source apportionment protocol using four priority PhACs was proposed to trace the emission originating from treated and untreated livestock wastewater and to indicate the major contributor (cattle or swine farms) in the region. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first long-term investigation on the pollution characteristics of non-antibiotics in livestock wastewater in China, and our findings highlight the importance of considering non-antibiotics and the prioritized PhACs for the pollution control of PhACs in livestock wastewater.

Quantitatively identifying the emission sources of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in the surface water: Method development, verification and application in Huangpu River, China.

Recognizing the main sources of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) found in surface waters has been a challenge to the effective control of PhAC contamination from the sources. In the present study, a novel method based on Characteristic Matrix (ChaMa) model of indicator PhACs to quantitatively identify the contribution of multiple emission sources was developed, verified, and applied in Huangpu River, Shanghai. Carbamazepine (CBZ), caffeine (CF) and sulfadiazine (SDZ) were proposed as indicators. Their occurrence patterns in the corresponding emission sources and the factor analysis of their composition in the surface water samples were employed to construct the ChaMa model and develop the source apportionment method. Samples from typical emission sources were collected and analyzed as hypothetical surface water samples, to verify the method proposed. The results showed that the calculated contribution proportions of emission sources to the corresponding source samples were 45%-85%, proving the feasibility of the method. Finally, the method was applied to different sections in Huangpu River, and the results showed that livestock wastewater was the dominant emission source, accounting for 55%-73% in the upper reach of Huangpu River. Untreated municipal wastewater was dominant in the middle and lower reaches of Huangpu River, accounting for 76%-94%. This novel source apportionment method allows the quantitative identification of the contribution of multiple PhAC emission sources. It can be replicated in other regions where the occurrence of localized indicators was available, and will be helpful to control the contamination of PhACs in the water environment from the major sources.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the urban river across the megacity Shanghai: Occurrence, source apportionment and a snapshot of influence of rainfall.

Occurrence of eleven pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) along Huangpu River, a representative urban river of megacity Shanghai, was investigated in four sampling campaigns. The overall concentrations of PPCPs ranged from

Efficient elimination of sulfonamides by an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic-membrane bioreactor process: Performance and influence of redox condition.

Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) were shown contradictory results for the removal of antibiotics, such as sulfonamides (SAs), from wastewater in different studies, which highlighted the necessity for comprehensive investigation on removal mechanisms of sulfonamides in well-controlled lab-scale MBRs. In the present study, the removal performance of nine SAs by a lab-scale anaerobic/anoxic/oxic-membrane bioreactor (A1/A2/O-MBR) was studied at environmental relevant concentrations. The results showed that all the SAs were efficiently eliminated (93.9%-97.5%) in the A1/A2/O-MBR, much more efficiently than the previously reported MBR-based processes. The largest contribution to the total removal was made by the aerobic reactor (71.1%-85.3%) A small portion of SAs (7.1%-22.5%) were removed by anoxic reactor. Activated sludge in the A1/A2/O-MBR was harvested to conduct batch experiments to further study the removal and degradation kinetics of SAs under anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic conditions. The results indicated that only sulfisoxazole could be removed under anaerobic condition. Modest biodegradation of individual SAs (15-33%) was observed under anoxic condition. Under aerobic condition, most investigated SAs underwent an efficient and fast removal (68-77%) in 6h without a lag phase; while sulfisomidine and sulfamethazine were removed less efficiently (approximately 47% after 6h reaction). The aerobic and anoxic degradation of SAs fitted the first-order kinetics model well, and the obtained biodegradation rate constants (k1) were reliable to predict removal efficiencies of SAs in the anoxic and aerobic reactor of A1/A2/O-MBR based on their HRTs.