Removal efficiency of 66 pharmaceuticals during wastewater treatment process in Japan

Both biological treatment processes including conventional activated sludge (CAS) and biological nutrient removal (BNR) processes, and physico-chemical treatment processes including ozonation process and Title 22 process consisting of coagulation, sedimentation and filtration followed by UV or chlorination disinfection after the above biological processes, were compared from the viewpoint of removal efficiency. 66 pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, analgesics, psychoneurotic agents were measured with SPE-LC/MS/MS. 26 compounds out of 66 were detected in the influent ranging ng/L to microg/L order. Particularly, disopyramide, sulpiride, and dipyridamole that have been rarely detected before in the WWTP, occurred at concentration levels of more than 100 ng/L. The total concentration of the individual pharmaceuticals in the influent was efficiently removed by 80% during the biological treatment. But removal efficiencies of carbamazepine and crotamiton were less than 30%. The total concentration of the individual pharmaceuticals in the effluent from CAS process was 1.5 times higher than that from BNR process. Further, the total concentration of the individual pharmaceuticals in the discharge from WWTPs applying ozonation following activated sludge process was reduced to less than 20%. Physico-chemical treatment train called Title 22 treatment after CAS could not efficiently remove the pharmaceuticals. However, ozonation process followed by biological activated carbon process could efficiently reduce all the residual pharmaceuticals below their quantification limits.

Occurrence of 70 pharmaceutical and personal care products in Tone River basin in Japan

The occurrence of 70 pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) was investigated in the Tone River. The river has the largest basin in Japan, and the water is utilized not only for farming, but also as a source of water supply. One day in both January and October 2006, surface waters in the river and its tributaries and effluents from sewage treatment plants (STPs) directly discharging into the Tone River were collected, the location of which ranged over 150 km along the river. The 70 PPCPs in the samples were concentrated by solid phase cartridge and were measured by LC-MS/MS using three analytical methods. Fifty-seven PPCPs were detected in one or more samples. Bezafibrate, caffeine, carbamazepine, clarithromycin, crotamiton and sulpiride were frequently detected. Mass flow profiles of some PPCPs (e.g., crotamiton) were comparable to cumulative inhabitants in the basin, suggesting that these PPCPs could be markers of population. Total load of each PPCP into the basin from upstream, the tributaries, and the STPs were calculated. The contribution of selected PPCPs from the tributaries with lower sewerage system coverage was dominant compared to those from upstream and the STPs, suggesting the installation of sewerage systems is necessary to reduce the load of PPCPs in the Tone River basin.