Abstract

Removal of six active pharmaceutical ingredients in wastewater was investigated using chlorine dioxide (ClO2) or peracetic acid (PAA) as chemical oxidants. Four non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac and mefenamic acid) and two lipid-regulating agents (gemfibrozil and clofibric acid, a metabolite of clofibrate) were used as target substances at 40 microg/L initial concentration. Three different wastewaters types originating from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were used. One wastewater was collected after extended nitrogen removal in activated sludge, one after treatment with high-loaded activated sludge without nitrification, and one from the final effluent from the same plant where nitrogen removal was made in trickling filters for nitrification and moving-bed biofilm reactors for denitrification following the high-loaded plant. Of the six investigated compounds, only clofibric acid and ibuprofen were not removed when treated with ClO2 up to 20 mg/L. With increasing PAA dose up to 50 mg/L, significant removal of most of the pharmaceuticals was observed except for the wastewater with the highest chemical oxygen demand (COD). This indicates that chemical oxidation with ClO2 could be used for tertiary treatment at WWTPs for active pharmaceutical ingredients, whereas PAA was not sufficiently efficient.

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Authors

Hey G, Ledin A, Jansen Jl, Andersen HR

Institution

Water and Environmental Engineering at Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, 221 00 Lund, Sweden. gerly.moradas@chemeng.lth.se

Source

Environmental technology 33:7-9 pg 1041-7

MeSH

Chlorine Compounds
Oxides
Peracetic Acid
Pharmaceutical Preparations
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Water Purification

Pub Type(s)

Comparative Study
Evaluation Studies
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22720432