Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Occurrence and behavior of pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plants in eastern China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The occurrence and removal efficiency of seven pharmaceuticals (norfloxacin, trimethoprim, roxithromycin, sulfamethoxazole, ibuprofen, diclofenac and carbamazepine) were determined in three sewage treatment plants (STPs) with anaerobic/anoxic/oxic, anoxic/oxic and oxidation ditches processes in Xuzhou City, Eastern China. The results showed that seven pharmaceuticals were detected in the influent samples with concentrations ranging from 93 to 2540 ng·L−1. The removal of these substances among the three different STPs varied from 36 to 84%, with the highest performance obtained by the wastewater treatment works with tertiary treatment (sand filtration). Most of the compounds were removed effectively during biologic treatment while sand filtration treatment also made a contribution to the total elimination of most pharmaceuticals. The efficiency comparison of the three sewage treatment processes showed that the STP which employed anaerobic/anoxic/oxic was more effective to remove pharmaceuticals than the oxidation ditches and anoxic/oxic.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Santos J L, Aparicio I, Alonso E. Occurrence and risk assessment of pharmaceutically active compounds in wastewater treatment plants. A case study: Seville city (Spain). Environment International, 2007, 33(4): 596–601

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Zhou J L, Zhang Z L, Banks E, Grover D, Jiang J Q. Pharmaceutical residues in wastewater treatment works effluents and their impact on receiving river water. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2009, 166(2–3): 655–661

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Sui Q, Huang J, Deng S B, Yu G, Fan Q. Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals, caffeine and DEET in wastewater treatment plants of Beijing, China. Water Research, 2010, 44(2): 417–426

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Vieno N, Tuhkanen T, Kronberg L. Elimination of pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plants in Finland. Water Research, 2007, 41(5): 1001–1012

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Kasprzyk-Hordern B, Dinsdale R M, Guwy A J. 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, 2009, 43(2): 363–380

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Zorita S, Mårtensson L, Mathiasson L. Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals in a municipal sewage treatment system in the south of Sweden. Science of the Total Environment, 2009, 407(8): 2760–2770

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Choi K, Kim Y, Park J, Park C K, Kim M, Kim H S, Kim P. Seasonal variations of several pharmaceutical residues in surface water and sewage treatment plants of Han River, Korea. Science of the Total Environment, 2008, 405(1–3): 120–128

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Batt A L, Kim S, Aga D S. Comparison of the occurrence of antibiotics in four full-scale wastewater treatment plants with varying designs and operations. Chemosphere, 2007, 68(3): 428–435

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. China’s per capita consumption of antibioticsis is ten times as many as the United States. Dazhong Daily, http://news.163.com/12/0308/15/7S37EVRF00014AED.html, 2012 (in Chinese).

  10. Karthikeyan K G, Meyer M T. Occurrence of antibiotics in wastewater treatment facilities in Wisconsin, USA. Science of the Total Environment, 2006, 361(1–3): 196–207

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Clara M, Strenn B, Gans O, Martinez E, Kreuzinger N, Kroiss H. Removal of selected pharmaceuticals, fragrances and endocrine disrupting compounds in a membrane bioreactor and conventional wastewater treatment plants. Water Research, 2005, 39(19): 4797–4807

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Carballa M, Omil F, Lema J M, Llompart M, García-Jares C, Rodríguez I, Gómez M, Ternes T. Behavior of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and hormones in a sewage treatment plant. Water Research, 2004, 38(12): 2918–2926

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Xu WH, Zhang G, Li X D, Zou S C, Li P, Hu Z H, Li J. Occurrence and elimination of antibiotics at four sewage treatment plants in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), South China. Water Research, 2007, 41(19): 4526–4534

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Zwiener C, Frimmel F H. Short-term tests with a pilot sewage plant and biofilm reactors for the biological degradation of the pharmaceutical compounds clofibric acid, ibuprofen, and diclofenac. Science of the Total Environment, 2003, 309(1–3): 201–211

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Kanda R, Griffin P, James H A, Fothergill J. Pharmaceutical and personal care products in sewage treatment works. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 2003, 5(5): 823–830

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Li B, Zhang T. Biodegradation and adsorption of antibiotics in the activated sludge process. Environmental Science & Technology, 2010, 44(9): 3468–3473

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Göbel A, McArdell C S, Joss A, Siegrist H, Giger W. Fate of sulfonamides, macrolides, and trimethoprim in different wastewater treatment technologies. Science of the Total Environment, 2007, 372(2–3): 361–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Sim W J, Leel J W, Oh J E. Occurrence and fate of pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plants and rivers in Korea. Environmental Pollution, 2010, 158(5): 1938–1947

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

    Juan Du & Xin Qian

  2. Xuzhou Research Institute of Environmental, Xuzhou, 221002, China

    Juan Du & Yu Fan

Authors
  1. Juan Du
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yu Fan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xin Qian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xin Qian.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Du, J., Fan, Y. & Qian, X. Occurrence and behavior of pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plants in eastern China. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 9, 725–730 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-014-0661-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-014-0661-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation