The fate of oestrone (E1), 17beta-oestradiol (E2) and 17alpha-ethynyloestradiol (EE2) was investigated in a concentrated blackwater treatment system consisting of an UASB septic tank, with micro-aerobic post-treatment. In UASB septic tank effluent a (natural) total concentration of 4.02 microg/L E1 and 18.69 microg/L E2, comprising the sum of conjugated (>70% for E1 and >80% for E2) and unconjugated forms, was measured. During post-treatment the unconjugated oestrogens were removed to below 1 microg/L. A percentage of 77% of the measured unconjugated E1 and 82% of E2 was associated with particles >1.2 microm in the final effluent implying high sorption affinity of both compounds. When spiking the UASB septic tank effluent with E1, E2, EE2 and the sulphate conjugate of E2, removal in the micro-aerobic post-treatment was >99% for both E2 and EE2 and 83% for E1. The lower removal value for E1 was a result of (slow) deconjugation during the treatment, and in the final effluent still 40% of E1 and 99% of E2 was present in conjugated form. The latter was the result of incomplete deconjugation of the spiked E2(3S) in the post-treatment system.
China is undergoing rapid urbanization and economic development. This requires a new approach on spatial planning and environmental infrastructure. In the presented project an example of this approach is given for the city of Changzhou (China) where a new residential area (Qinglong district) will be developed for 100.000 inhabitants. Key issue within the formulation of sustainable sanitation concepts is the integration and management of water, waste and energy in such a way that they will become beneficial to the establishment of the envisaged green city. Starting point was the closing of material cycles focusing on possibilities to recover and reuse valuable resources and energy from "waste" produced in an urban setting. Four different scenarios focusing on water, nutrient and energy recovery were compared with the baseline wastewater management practice. Besides environmental benefits, the economical benefits of sustainable sanitation concepts are attractive, the break even point with the baseline scenario, is already after 5 years, provided that recovered resources will be sold for a marketable price. We believe that presented concepts are applicable for a wide range of new urban development initiatives in China and similar rapidly developing densely populated regions worldwide.
Two parallel researches were performed; one focused on the fate of oestrogens in the biological treatment systems within decentralised sanitation and re-use concepts (DESAR), the second related to the development of a suitable specific removal method. A new affinity membrane was developed using antibodies as specific binding sites for hormone removal. It was found that, especially in anaerobic treatment, the core technology in DESAR, the removal is insufficient and therefore an additional separation method is required. The affinity membrane with antibodies was found to be a suitable additional method, though in the current system it only removes one selected compound. Future research will focus on making this method more feasible in practise.
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