Emerging contaminants in biosolids: Presence, fate and analytical techniques

A review on the fate and effects of contaminants in biosolids applied on land: Hazards and government regulatory policies

“…Although biosolids are beneficial to crops when used as organic fertilizer and soil conditioner [ 81 ], they do contain contaminants at minute concentrations in nanogram/liter (ng/L) or lower (the concentrations of contaminants in biosolids are usually below regulatory standards), which can accumulate in soils [ 82 ] due to repeated land application and, eventually cause environmental pollution [ 83 ]. These emerging contaminants discovered in biosolids may include pharmaceuticals and personal care products (P&PCPs) such as prescription drugs that may be found in human faeces and urine [ 84 , 85 ] and, chemicals in soaps, detergents, shampoo, etc. [ 83 ], endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), surfactants, flame retardants, per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) [ 84 ], microplastics (or nanoparticles) in toothpaste and laundry wastewater, etc.…”

“…These emerging contaminants discovered in biosolids may include pharmaceuticals and personal care products (P&PCPs) such as prescription drugs that may be found in human faeces and urine [ 84 , 85 ] and, chemicals in soaps, detergents, shampoo, etc. [ 83 ], endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), surfactants, flame retardants, per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) [ 84 ], microplastics (or nanoparticles) in toothpaste and laundry wastewater, etc. [ [86] , [87] , [88] ], which all enter the wastewater treatment plant and thus, sewage sludge through the sewer system, remaining in biosolid after sludge treatment as treatment does not completely remove these contaminants [ 27 ].…”

Uptake and release of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) from macro and microplastics

“…17 Existing literature reports the coexistence of MPs and PFCAs in lakes 18 and products from wastewater treatment, such as biosolids or sewage sludge. 19,20 In some instances, biosolids and sewage sludge are utilized as fertilizer in agriculture, leading to the unintentional deposition of these contaminants into the environment via runoff 21 and atmospheric transport. 20 The potential for co-existence of PFCAs and MPs in numerous environments has prompted the development of predictive models to estimate their relationship in different aqueous settings.…”

The Experimental Design Approach to Removal of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds from Domestic Wastewater by Electrooxidation Process

“…Besides the development of more sensitive analytical techniques or detection methods that can measure EDCs in water and wastewater at very low concentrations, it is also exceedingly challenging to get EDCs removal from wastewater [47,49]. The primary drivers of increased quantity and concentration of EDCs in wastewater include technological advancement, population expansion, lifestyle changes, and a lack of regulatory standards [41,75].…”