Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effectiveness of Conventional and Low-Cost Wastewater Treatments in the Removal of Pharmaceutically Active Compounds

  • Published:
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the present work, the effectiveness of conventional wastewater treatments (activated sludge and oxidation ditches) and low-cost wastewater treatments (trickling filter beds, anaerobic lagooning and constructed wetlands) in the removal of pharmaceutically active compounds has been studied. To evaluate the efficiency of removal, 16 pharmaceutically active compounds belonging to seven therapeutic groups (anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, antiepileptic drugs, β-blockers, nervous stimulants, estrogens and lipid regulators) have been monitored during 1-year period in influent and effluent wastewater from 11 wastewater treatment plants of Spain. Mean removal rates of pharmaceutically active compounds achieved in conventional wastewater treatments were slightly higher than those achieved in low-cost treatments, being 64% and 55%, respectively. Ibuprofen, naproxen, salicylic acid and caffeine were the pharmaceutical compounds most efficiently removed, regardless the wastewater treatment applied, with removal rates up to 99%. Anaerobic lagooning was the less effective treatment for the removal of the most persistent compounds: carbamazepine and propranolol.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • APHA. (2005). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater (21st ed.). Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Camacho-Muñoz, D., Martín, J., Santos, J. L., Aparicio, I., & Alonso, E. (2009). An affordable method for the simultaneous determination of the most studied pharmaceutical compounds as wastewater and surface water pollutants. Journal of Separation Science, 32, 3064–3073.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camacho-Muñoz, D., Martín, J., Santos, J. L., Aparicio, I., & Alonso, E. (2010a). Occurrence, temporal evolution and risk assessment of pharmaceutically active compounds in Doñana Park (Spain). Journal of Hazardous Materials, 183, 602–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camacho-Muñoz, M. D., Santos, J. L., Aparicio, I., & Alonso, E. (2010b). Presence of pharmaceutically active compounds in Doñana Park (Spain) main watersheds. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 177, 1159–1162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conkle, J. L., White, J. R., & Metcalfe, C. D. (2008). Reduction of pharmaceutically active compounds by lagoon wetland wastewater treatment system in Southeast Louisiana. Chemosphere, 73, 1741–1748.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Díaz-Cruz, M., López de Alda, M. J., & Barceló, D. (2003). Environmental behavior and analysis of veterinary and human drugs in soils, sediments and sludge. Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 22, 340–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dordio, A., Palace, A. J., Martins, D., Barrocas, C., & Pinto, A. P. (2010). Removal of pharmaceuticals in microcosm constructed wetlands using Typha spp. and LECA. Bioresource Technology, 101, 886–892.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Farré, M., Ferrer, I., Ginebreda, A., Figueras, M., Olivella, L., Tirapu, L., Vilanova, M., & Barceló, D. (2001). Determination of drugs in surface water and wastewater samples by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry: methods and preliminary results including toxicity studies with Vibrio fischeri. Journal of Chromatography. A, 938, 187–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • García, J., Rousseau, D. P. L., Morató, J., Lesage, E., Matamoros, V., & Bayona, J. M. (2010). Contaminant removal processes in subsurface-flow constructed wetlands: a review. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 40, 561–661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Göbel, A., McArdell, C. S., Joss, A., Siegrist, H., & Giger, W. (2007). Fate of sulfonamides, macrolides, and trimethorprim in different wastewater treatment technologies. Science of the Total Environment, 372, 361–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hashimoto, T., Onda, K., Nakamura, Y., Tada, K., Miya, A., & Murakami, T. (2007). Comparison of natural estrogen removal efficiency in the conventional activated sludge process and the oxidation ditch process. Water Research, 41, 2117–2126.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hijosa-Valsero, M., Matamoros, V., Martín-Villacorta, J., Bécares, E., & Bayona, J. M. (2010a). Assessment of full-scale natural systems for the removal of PPCPs from wastewater in small communities. Water Research, 44, 1429–1439.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hijosa-Valsero, M., Matamoros, V., Sidrach-Cardona, R., Martín-Villacorta, J., Bécares, E., & Bayona, J. M. (2010b). Comprehensive assessment of the design configuration of constructed wetlands for the removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products from urban wastewaters. Water Research, 44, 3669–3678.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, O. A. H., Voulvoulis, N., & Lester, J. N. (2007). The occurrence and removal of selected pharmaceutical compounds in a sewage treatment works utilizing activated sludge treatment. Environmental Pollution, 145, 738–744.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kasprzyk-Hordern, B., Dinsdale, R. M., & Guwy, A. J. (2008). The occurrence of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disruptors and illicit drugs in surface water in South Wales, UK. Water Research, 42, 3498–3518.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kasprzyk-Hordern, B., Dinsdale, R. M., & Guwy, A. J. (2009). The removal of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disruptors and illicit drugs during wastewater treatment and its impact on the quality of receiving waters. Water Research, 43, 363–380.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lacey, C., McMahon, G., Bones, J., Barron, L., Morrisey, A., & Tobin, J. M. (2008). An LC-MS method for the determination of pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater treatment plant influent and effluent samples. Talanta, 75, 1089–1097.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lajeunesse, A., & Gagnon, C. (2007). Determination of acidic pharmaceutical products and carbamazepine in roughly primary-treated wastewater by solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, 87, 565–578.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lindqvist, N., Tuhkanen, T., & Kronberg, L. (2005). Occurrence of acidic pharmaceuticals in raw and treated sewages and in receiving waters. Water Research, 39, 2219–2228.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Matamoros, V., Puigagut, J., García, J., & Bayona, J. M. (2007). Behavior of selected priority organic pollutants in horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands: a preliminary screening. Chemosphere, 69, 1374–1380.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Matamoros, V., Hijosa, M., & Bayona, J. M. (2009). Assessment of the pharmaceutical active compounds removal in wastewater treatment systems at enantiomeric level. Ibuprofen and naproxen. Chemosphere, 75, 200–205.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Radjenović, J., Petrović, M., & Barceló, D. (2009). Complementary mass spectrometry and bioassays for evaluating pharmaceutical-transformation products in treatment of drinking water and wastewater. Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 28, 562–580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rauch-Williams, T., Hoppe-Jones, C., & Drewes, J. E. (2010). The role of organic matter in the removal of emerging trace organic chemicals during managed aquifer recharge. Water Research, 44, 449–460.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, J. L., Aparicio, I., Alonso, E., & Callejón, M. (2005). Simultaneous determination of pharmaceutically active compounds in wastewater samples by solid phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array and fluorescence detectors. Analytica Chimica Acta, 550, 116–122.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, J. L., Aparicio, I., Callejón, M., & Alonso, E. (2008). Occurrence of pharmaceutically active compounds during 1-year period in wastewaters from four wastewater treatment plants in Seville (Spain). Journal of Hazardous Materials, 164, 1509–1516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sui, Q., Huang, J., Deng, S., Yu, G., & Fan, Q. (2010). Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals, caffeine and DEET in wastewater treatment plants of Beijing, China. Water Research, 44, 417–426.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tauxe-Wuersch, A., De Alencastro, L. F., Grandjean, D., & Tarradellas, J. (2005). Occurrence of several acidic drugs in sewage treatment plants in Switzerland and risk assessment. Water Research, 39, 1761–1772.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ternes, T., Bonerz, M., & Schmidt, T. (2001). Determination of neutral pharmaceuticals in wastewater and rivers by liquid chromatography–electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. Journal of Chromatography. A, 938, 175–185.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ternes, T., Meisenheimer, M., McDowell, D., Sacher, F., Brauch, H., Haist-Gulde, B., Preuss, G., Wilme, U., & Zulei-Seibert, N. (2002). Removal of pharmaceuticals during drinking water treatment. Environmental Science and Technology, 36, 3855–3863.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tsoumanis, C. M., Giokas, D. L., & Vlessidis, G. (2010). Monitoring and classification of wastewater quality using supervised pattern recognition techniques and deterministic resolution of molecular absorption spectra based on multiwavelenght UV spectra deconvolution. Talanta, 82, 575–581.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vieno, N., Tuhkanen, T., & Kronberg, L. (2007). Elimination of pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plants in Finland. Water Research, 41, 1001–1012.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zorita, S., Martensson, L., & Mathiasson, L. (2009). Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals in a municipal sewage treatment system in the south of Sweden. Science of the Total Environment, 407, 2760–2770.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the financial support received from the Agencia Andaluza del Agua (Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, Spain) and from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain (Project No. CGL2007-62281).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Analytical Chemistry, High Polytechnic School, University of Seville, C/ Virgen de África 7, 41011, Seville, Spain

    D. Camacho-Muñoz, J. Martín, J. L. Santos, I. Aparicio & E. Alonso

Authors
  1. D. Camacho-Muñoz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. Martín
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. L. Santos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. I. Aparicio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. E. Alonso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. L. Santos.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Camacho-Muñoz, D., Martín, J., Santos, J.L. et al. Effectiveness of Conventional and Low-Cost Wastewater Treatments in the Removal of Pharmaceutically Active Compounds. Water Air Soil Pollut 223, 2611–2621 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-011-1053-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-011-1053-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation