Occurrence, seasonal variations and removal of Organic Micropollutants in 76 Wastewater Treatment Plants

[Display omitted] •A monitoring campaign of 34 months was conducted on 76 Wastewater Treatment Plants.•Influent and effluent concentrations of 13 Organic Micropollutants were determined.•Some illicit drugs and Ketoprofen showed the highest concentrations.•Steroid concentrations were in most cases un...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Process safety and environmental protection 2020-09, Vol.141, p.61-72
Main Authors: Di Marcantonio, Camilla, Chiavola, Agostina, Dossi, Simona, Cecchini, Giancarlo, Leoni, Simone, Frugis, Alessandro, Spizzirri, Massimo, Boni, Maria Rosaria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Contaminants
Detection limits
Drugs
Effluents
Endocrine disrupting compounds
Environmental monitoring
Illicit drugs
Ketoprofen
Micropollutants
Organic emerging micro-pollutants
Pharmaceuticals
Polls & surveys
Pollutant removal
Pollutants
Pollution monitoring
Removal
Seasonal variations
Steroid hormones
Steroids
Tertiary treatment
Tetrahydrocannabinol
Wastewater
Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment plants
Water treatment
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Summary:[Display omitted] •A monitoring campaign of 34 months was conducted on 76 Wastewater Treatment Plants.•Influent and effluent concentrations of 13 Organic Micropollutants were determined.•Some illicit drugs and Ketoprofen showed the highest concentrations.•Steroid concentrations were in most cases under the detection limits.•Secondary-tertiary treatment provided the best removal for most of the pollutants. The present study shows the results of an experimental survey conducted over 34 months on 76 full-scale Wastewater Treatment Plants located in central Italy with the aim to determine the influent and effluent concentrations of 13 Organic Micropollutants belonging to the class of illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals and steroids. The survey focused on a large set of plants differing for the main characteristics (e.g. treatment capacity, type of lay-out). Based on the values measured in the influent and effluent, removal efficiency of each contaminant in each plant was also determined, as well as the seasonal variation of the influent concentration. Among the monitored pollutants, some illicit drugs (i.e. Benzoylecgonine, 11-nor-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and Ketoprofen showed the highest concentrations in the influent and were also the most frequently detected in the wastewater; nonetheless, the plants were capable of removing these pollutants at high extent (median removal value of 70 %, 65 % and 74 %, respectively). On the other side, steroid concentrations were in most cases under the detection limits. About the type of lay-out, the comparison of the efficiency obtained by the different plants showed that combination of secondary and tertiary treatment provides the best removal for most of the target Organic Micropollutants.
ISSN:0957-5820
1744-3598
DOI:10.1016/j.psep.2020.05.032