Emerging pollutant treatments in wastewater: Cases of antibiotics and hormones

Abstract

Because of the intensive use of pharmaceutical substances in human life, studies on the detection of these chemical compounds and their metabolites as pollutants in water bodies are continuously reported. Some pharmaceutical agents are associated with adverse effects to aquatic life, even at very low concentrations (ng L to μg L). For instance, the presence of antibiotics and hormones has been associated with increasing proliferation of antibiotic resistant pathogens and feminization and masculinization of some aquatic organisms. Currently, new attempts are being made to minimize or fully remove these types of pollutants from aquatic systems to protect the environment and human health. In this regard, physicochemical and biological treatments are among the most promising technologies for the treatment of wastewater containing pharmaceutical pollutants. These treatments are green alternatives for the degradation of hazardous organic compounds into nontoxic by-products. Here, we review some of the physicochemical and biological treatment methods used for the removal of the most extensively used antibiotics and hormones. Enzymatic oxidation, photocatalysis and electrochemical oxidation are described in terms of the aforementioned pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs). The use of membrane technologies to separate different groups of antibiotics and hormones prior to biologic or physicochemical treatment methods is also addressed.

Exclusion of Estrogenic and Androgenic Steroid Hormones from Municipal Membrane Bioreactor Wastewater Using UF/NF/RO Membranes for Water Reuse Application

“…Membranes 2020, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 7 of 18 effluent rejection [33]. MBR is considered a relatively better treatment process for the removals of steroids compared to conventional activated sludge processes alone [34]. Likewise, micropollutants (MPs), such as E2 and T, can be removed by size exclusion and adsorption mechanisms using ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO).…”

Treatment Processes for Microbial Resistance Mitigation: The Technological Contribution to Tackle the Problem of Antibiotic Resistance

“…Concerning antibiotic removal, biological systems have proved to be efficient to a certain extent [92,93], although concentrations within the ng/L range are still detected in the effluents of biological reactors [94][95][96]. Antibiotics such as sulfonamides, tetracyclines, and macrolides have been removed in aerobic, anaerobic, and combined systems [97].…”

An Overview on Usage of Nanoscale Zero Valent Iron for Pharmaceuticals Elimination

“…Literature Some of the physicochemical and biological treatment methods used for the removal of antibiotics and hormone. [3] The occurrence of micropollutants in the aquatic environment and their fate and removal during wastewater treatment. [10] Degradation and removal methods of antibiotics from aqueous matrices-A review.…”

“…These emerging contaminants contain persistent organic pollutants, microconstituents, cyanotoxins, pesticides and herbicides, disinfection by-products, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), and a host of other compounds. Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) present in the different matrix have become an issue of concern due to their persistence and their high biological activity at even very low concentrations [3] which also create challenges for water and wastewater treatment processes [4]. The presence of certain PhACs in rivers, lakes, wastewater, sewage treatment plants (STPs), soil, groundwater, and sediments have been determined in previous studies [5,6,7].…”