Pharmaceutical residues in wastewater treatment works effluents and their impact on receiving river water

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in effluent matrices: A survey of transformation and removal during wastewater treatment and implications for wastewater management

“…A compilation of influent and effluent data from studies documenting PPCP removal in lagoon and wetland treatment systems 18,126,128,[131][132][133] confirms that such passive or natural treatment approaches perform favorably relative to conventional wastewater treatment systems (Fig. 12).…”

“…PPCP removal during conventional (primary and secondary) wastewater treatment Studies of PPCP fate during primary wastewater treatment (i.e., coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation) are generally limited [14][15][16][17][18] because results from drinking water treatment often suggest that removal during these stages is relatively insignificant. In contrast, the greatest contribution to PPCP removal during conventional wastewater treatment occurs during secondary (i.e., biological) treatment.…”

Recent Advances in Water Management: Saving, Treatment and Reuse

“…There is some research directed at overcoming the relatively slow growth rates of anammox that can delay the full treatment capability of larger-scale systems. Several studies [35,[54][55][56][57] suggest utilizing external energy fields and/or addition of MnO 2 or ferrous iron to the wastewater stream treated to accelerate anammox growth, though such laboratory-scale augmentations have yet to be validated at the commercial scale. Practically, addition of manganese or iron to the wastewater treatment process, much less large electrical fields, may constitute a substantial cost to the WWTP, especially as uncertainty remains as to the required type of iron or manganese, their related concentration, and the duration supplemental metal additions are needed to maintain desired nitrogen removal.…”

Potential of Constructed Wetlands for Removal of Antibiotics from Saline Aquaculture Effluents

“…Pharmaceuticals are designed to have low biodegradability and to be water-soluble so, without proper removal, they end up in natural waters [6]. Although found at low concentrations, antibiotics remain in the aquatic environment for years causing serious toxic effects [7] and promoting the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes due to selective pressure [2,8].…”