Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Occurrence, removal, and environmental risks of pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plants in south China

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

Abstract

Pharmaceutically active compounds in wastewater released from human consumption have received considerable attention because of their possible risks for aquatic environments. In this study, the occurrence and removal of 10 pharmaceuticals in three municipal wastewater treatment plants in southern China were investigated and the environmental risks they posed were assessed. Nifedipine, atenolol, metoprolol, valsartan and pravastatin were detected in the influent wastewater. The highest average concentration in the influents was observed for metoprolol (164.6 ng/L), followed by valsartan (120.3 ng/L) in August, while median concentrations were higher in November than in August. The total average daily mass loadings of the pharmaceuticals in the three plants were 289.52 mg/d/person, 430.46 mg/d/person and 368.67 mg/d/person, respectively. Elimination in the treatment plants studied was incomplete, with metoprolol levels increasing during biological treatment. Biological treatment was the most effective step for PhACs removal in all of the plants studied. Moreover, the removal of PhACs was observed with higher efficiencies in August than in November. The WWTP equipped with an Unitank process exhibited similar removals of most PhACs as other WWTPs equipped with an anoxic/oxic (A/O) process or various anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A2/O) process. The environmental risk assessment concluded that all of the single PhAC in the effluents displayed a low risk (RQ<0.1) to the aquatic environments.

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

  • Backhaus T, Scholze M, Grimme L H (2000). The single substance and mixture toxicity of quinolones to the bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri. Aquatic Toxicology (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 49(1-2): 49–61

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Behera S K, Kim H W, Oh J E, Park H S (2011). Occurrence and removal of antibiotics, hormones and several other pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plants of the largest industrial city of Korea. Science of the Total Environment, 409(20): 4351–4360

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brennan P J, Greenberg G, Miall W E, Thompson S G (1982). Seasonal variation in arterial blood pressure. British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.), 285(6346): 919–923

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Göbel A, Thomsen A, McArdell C S, Joss A, Giger W (2005). Occurrence and sorption behavior of sulfonamides, macrolides, and trimethoprim in activated sludge treatment. Environmental Science & Technology, 39(11): 3981–3989

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hernando M D, Mezcua M, Fernández-Alba A R, Barceló D (2006). Environmental risk assessment of pharmaceutical residues in wastewater effluents, surface waters and sediments. Talanta, 69(2): 334–342

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang Q, Yu Y, Tang C, Zhang K, Cui J, Peng X (2011). Occurrence and behavior of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and lipid regulators in wastewater and urban river water of the Pearl River Delta, South China. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 13(4): 855–863

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huerta-Fontela M, Galceran M T, Ventura F (2011). Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals and hormones through drinking water treatment. Water Research, 45(3): 1432–1442

    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(2): 363–380

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khan S J, Ongerth J E (2002). Estimation of pharmaceutical residues in primary and secondary sewage sludge based on quantities of use and fugacity modelling. Water Science and Technology, 46(3): 105–113

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kosma C I, Lambropoulou D A, Albanis T A (2014). Investigation of PPCPs in wastewater treatment plants in Greece: occurrence, removal and environmental risk assessment. Science of the Total Environment, 466-467(1): 421–438

    Google Scholar 

  • Lolić A, Paíga P, Santos L H M L, Ramos S, Correia M, Delerue-Matos C (2015). Assessment of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and analgesic pharmaceuticals in seawaters of North of Portugal: Occurrence and environmental risk. Science of the Total Environ-ment, 508(3): 240–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lv M, Sun Q, Hu A, Hou L, Li J, Cai X, Yu C P (2014). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in a mesoscale subtropical watershed and their application as sewage markers. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 280: 696–705

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Papageorgiou M, Kosma C, Lambropoulou D (2016). Seasonal occurrence, removal, mass loading and environmental risk assessment of 55 pharmaceuticals and personal care products in a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Central Greece. Science of the Total Environment, 543(A): 547–569

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peng X, Ou W, Wang C, Wang Z, Huang Q, Jin J, Tan J (2014). Occurrence and ecological potential of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in groundwater and reservoirs in the vicinity of municipal landfills in China. Science of the Total Environment, 490 (8): 889–898

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Quinn B, Gagné F, Blaise C (2009). Evaluation of the acute, chronic and teratogenic effects of a mixture of eleven pharmaceuticals on the cnidarian, Hydra attenuata. Science of the Total Environment, 407 (3): 1072–1079

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Radjenović J, Petrović M, Barceló D (2009). Fate and distribution of pharmaceuticals in wastewater and sewage sludge of the conventional activated sludge (CAS) and advanced membrane bioreactor (MBR) treatment. Water Research, 43(3): 831–841

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts J, Kumar A, Du J, Hepplewhite C, Ellis D J, Christy A G, Beavis S G (2016). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in Australia’s largest inland sewage treatment plant, and its contribution to a major Australian river during high and low flow. Science of the Total Environment, 541(1): 1625–1637

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rosal R, Rodríguez A, Perdigón-Melón J A, Petre A, García-Calvo E, Gómez M J, Agüera A, Fernández-Alba A R (2010). Occurrence of emerging pollutants in urban wastewater and their removal through biological treatment followed by ozonation. Water Research, 44(2 2SI): 578–588

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Subedi B, Kannan K (2015). Occurrence and fate of select psychoactive pharmaceuticals and antihypertensives in two wastewater treatment plants in New York State, USA. Science of the Total Environment, 514(5): 273–280

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sui Q, Huang J, Deng S, Chen W, Yu G (2011). Seasonal variation in the occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in different biological wastewater treatment processes. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(8): 3341–3348

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun Q, Lv M, Hu A (2014). Seasonal variation in the occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in a wastewater treatment plant in Xiamen, China. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 277(SI): 69–75

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (2007). EPA Method 1694: Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Water, Soil, Sediment, and Biosolids by HPLC/MS/MS

    Google Scholar 

  • Verlicchi P, Al Aukidy M, Zambello E (2012). Occurrence of pharmaceutical compounds in urban wastewater: Removal, mass load and environmental risk after a secondary treatment–a review. Science of the Total Environment, 429: 123–155

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Verlicchi P, Galletti A, Petrovic M, Barceló D (2010). Hospital effluents as a source of emerging pollutants: An overview of micropollutants and sustainable treatment options. Journal of Hydrology (Amsterdam), 389(3–4): 416–428

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang J, Zhang L, Wang F, Liu L, Wang H, and the China National Survey of Chronic Kidney Disease Working Group (2014). Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in China: Results from a national survey. American Journal of Hypertension, 27(11): 1355–1361

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan Q, Gao X, Chen Y P, Peng X Y, Zhang Y X, Gan X M, Zi C F, Guo J S (2014a). Occurrence, fate and ecotoxicological assessment of pharmaceutically active compounds in wastewater and sludge from wastewater treatment plants in Chongqing, the Three Gorges Reservoir Area. Science of the Total Environment, 470-471(2): 618–630

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan Q, Gao X, Huang L, Gan X M, Zhang Y X, Chen Y P, Peng X Y, Guo J S (2014b). Occurrence and fate of pharmaceutically active compounds in the largest municipal wastewater treatment plant in Southwest China: Mass balance analysis and consumption backcalculated model. Chemosphere, 99(3): 160–170

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan X, Qiang Z, Ben W, Zhu B, Qu J (2015). Distribution, mass load and environmental impact of multiple-class pharmaceuticals in conventional and upgraded municipal wastewater treatment plants in East China. Environmental Science. Processes & Impacts, 17(3): 596–605

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by China’s National Natural Science Fund (No. 51578555) and the Research Funding Program of Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology (No. 2016K0006).

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Huang Huang, Jie Wu, Jian Ye, Jia Deng, Yongmei Liang & Wei Liu

  2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Huang Huang, Jie Wu, Jian Ye, Jia Deng, Yongmei Liang & Wei Liu

  3. Foshan Water Group Co., Ltd., Foshan, 528000, China

    Tingjin Ye

Authors
  1. Huang Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jie Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jian Ye
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tingjin Ye
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jia Deng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yongmei Liang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Wei Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yongmei Liang or Wei Liu.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Huang, H., Wu, J., Ye, J. et al. Occurrence, removal, and environmental risks of pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plants in south China. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 12, 7 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1053-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1053-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation