Occurrence and Fate of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in Biosolids

Abstract

Each year, large quantities of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are used worldwide. Once conveyed to wastewater treatment plants, PPCPs can remain unchanged or undergo partial or complete transformation during wastewater treatment processes before discharge into the environment via effluent and biosolids for land application. Biosolids can be a major sink for some PPCPs. Previous investigations have indicated that land application of biosolids may be a potential important route through which PPCPs enter the environment. However, no information is available on exactly how closely the concentrations of PPCPs in the environmental media are related to the land application of PPCP-containing biosolids. This paper reviews currently available information on the occurrence of PPCPs in biosolids, methods of analysis, the potential fate of PPCPs in biosolids-applied soils, and composting as a potential means for removal of PPCPs from biosolids.

Ecotoxicological aspects related to the presence of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment

“…Alternatively, they may possibly leak into surrounding water compartments [39,40]. d) Impacts due to anthropogenic activities; as, for instance, Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) sludge, which can carry non-suspected drugs and is frequently used as a fertilizer on agricultural land [41,42]; veterinary medicines, which are also excreted in urine and faeces by animals before being spread onto land via manure application as fertilisers. Apart from the potential for direct soil contamination, there is also the risk of run-off with heavy rain, thus potentially contaminating both the surround-ing surface and groundwater [42][43][44].…”

“…Depending both on the particular technology resorted to and the active substance properties they may undergo: (i) degradation (mineralization) to low molecular weight compounds (e.g. CO2 and water); (ii) entrapment by suspended solids; (iii) discharge of the parent compound through chemical cleavage of the respective con-jugate forms and (iv) conversion to a more hydrophilic, persistent form which will short-circuit the treatment process [39,41,56,57]. Thus, in hospitals use of specific antibiotics, antineoplasic or diag-nostic agents subsequently requires a sewage treatment process more embracing and directed to these kind of drugs, which are only used in hospitals [35,58], and that must be different to the more specific procedure adopted at STPs receiving industrial discharges from drug manufactures [47][48][49]59].…”

“…Low adsorption coefficients that make active substances remain in the aqueous phase, favour their mobility through the STP and into nearby surface waters [53]. Adsorption to suspended solids depending on both hydropho-bic and electrostatic interactions established between each will follow the same destiny [11,41]. On the other hand, hydropho-bic metabolites will be held on STP sludge, provoking terrestrial contamination, thus affecting microorganisms and invertebrates.…”

Sorção de poluentes orgânicos emergentes em lodo de esgoto

“…A biodegradação de POE em ETE é dependente das propriedades físico--químicas do composto e das condições de tratamento do esgoto (XIA et al, 2005). Segundo Jørgensen e Halling-Sørensen (2000), durante o processo de tratamento de esgoto o composto original pode ser:…”

Trace organic contaminants in biosolids: Impact of conventional wastewater and sludge processing technologies and emerging alternatives

“…Significant TrOC removal (e.g. >60%) of linear alkyl sulphonate [132,133], nonylphenol [68,[130][131][132], polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [129], and certain pharmaceuticals (e.g. ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin) [40] have been reported depending on composting conditions (Table 1).…”