Quantification of Occurrence and Fate of Trace Organic Compounds During Secondary Wastewater Treatment

Rauch-Williams, Tanja; Dickenson, Eric; Drewes, Jörg E.; Drury, Douglas D.; Gerrity, Daniel; Higgins, Christopher P.; Salveson, Andrew; Snyder, Shane A.; Vanderford, Brett J.

doi:10.2175/193864710798193473

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Removal mechanisms were generally assumed to be a combination of biotransformation and sorption to solids in accordance with Suarez et al (2010) who determined volatilization to be an insignificant factor for TOrC removal, even for the most volatile compounds. Although sorption could have been a significant contributor to contaminant removal for a small number of target compounds, the literature suggests that biotransformation is the dominant mechanism (Joss et al, 2004;Melcer and Klecka, 2011;Radjenovic et al, 2009;Rauch-Williams et al, 2010;Suarez et al, 2010). Figure 2 illustrates the concentration sums of (A) 33 target compounds and (B) 5 steroid hormones at the various levels of treatment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Solids Retention Time in Full‐Scale Activated Sludge Basins on Trace Organic Contaminant Concentrations

Gerrity

Holady

Mawhinney

et al. 2013

Water Environment Research

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Although pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are largely unregulated, water resource recovery facilities are increasingly using advanced chemical/physical treatment technologies (e.g., advanced oxidation and reverse osmosis) to remove or destroy these trace organic contaminants (TOrCs). This can both reduce potential adverse human health effects in reuse applications and mitigate environmental effects on aquatic ecosystems. Unfortunately, advanced treatment technologies are typically energy intensive and costly to implement, operate, and maintain. The goal of this study was to determine whether optimization of solids retention time (SRT) provided sufficient benefits to warrant such operational strategies for TOrC mitigation. Specifically, SRTs of 5.5, 6, and 15 days were evaluated to determine the effects on several standard wastewater parameters (e.g., nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia concentrations) and the degradation of TOrCs. The experimental SRTs were operated simultaneously in parallel, full-scale activated sludge basins. The results indicate that it can be beneficial to implement biological process optimization strategies using existing infrastructure while reducing reliance on advanced treatment technologies. This study also identified potential operational issues that might arise in activated sludge systems operating at extended SRTs.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Solids Retention Time in Full‐Scale Activated Sludge Basins on Trace Organic Contaminant Concentrations

Gerrity

Holady

Mawhinney

et al. 2013

Water Environment Research

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“…This selection process identified compounds that consist of pharmaceuticals, food additives, personal care products, and other industrial chemicals and included: Sulfamethoxazole, Atenolol, Trimethoprim, Iopromide, Caffeine, Meprobamate, Primidone, Fluoxetine, Carbamazepine, Benzophenone, TCPP, DEET, TCEP, Diphenhydramine, Acetaminophen, Cimetidine, Sucralose, Naproxen, Bisphenol A, Ibuprofen, Gemfibrozil, Triclocarban, Triclosan. More detail on these compounds was provided in a previous publication (Rauch-Williams et al 2010). Compounds included share the following important features:…”

Section: Indicator Candidate Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Proposed Suite of Indicators for Assessing the Efficiency of Secondary Treatment for the Removal of Organic Trace Compounds — WERF CEC4R08

Rauch-Williams¹,

Dickenson²,

Drewes³

et al. 2011

proc water environ fed

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This paper summarizes the results to date of the WERF funded study entitled "Trace Organic Compounds Removal during Wastewater Treatment -Categorizing Wastewater Treatment Processes by their Efficacy in Reduction of a Suite of Indicator TOrC" (CEC4R08). The study aims at increasing our understanding of the effectiveness of secondary treatment processes for reducing indicator TOrC. The results of fullscale and laboratory-scale investigations were combined to identify the critical factors driving the removal of selected indicator compounds by biotransformation and sorption. Based on investigations conducted to date a suite of indicator compounds is proposed as a valuable tool for assessing the overall removal efficiency of various treatment processes for a larger group of TOrC that are similar in structure and fate properties to the indicators proposed.

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Use of prospective and retrospective risk assessment methods that simplify chemical mixtures associated with treated domestic wastewater discharges

Diamond

Altenburger

Coors

et al. 2018

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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A framework is presented that is intended to facilitate the evaluation of potential aquatic ecological risks resulting from discharges of down-the-drain chemicals. A scenario is presented using representatives of many of the types of chemicals that are treated domestically. Predicted environmental chemical concentrations are based on reported loading rates and routine removal rates for 3 types of treatment: trickling filter, activated sludge secondary treatment, and activated sludge plus advanced oxidation process as well as instream effluent dilution. In tier I, predicted effluent concentrations were compared with the lowest predicted-no-effect concentration (PNEC) obtained from the literature using safety factors as needed. A cumulative risk characterization ratio (cumRCR) < 1.0 indicates that risk is unlikely and no further action is needed. Otherwise, a tier 2 assessment is used, in which PNECs are based on trophic level. If tier 2 indicates a possible risk, then a retrospective assessment is recommended. In tier 1, the cumRCR was > 1.0 for all 3 treatment types in our scenario, even though no chemical exceeded a hazard quotient of 1.0 in activated sludge or advanced oxidation process. In tier 2, activated sludge yielded a lower cumRCR than trickling filter because of higher removal rates, and the cumRCR in the advanced oxidation process was << 1.0. Based on the maximum cumulative risk ratio (MCR), more than one-third of the predicted risk was accounted for by one chemical, and at least 90% was accounted for by 3 chemicals, indicating that few chemicals influenced the mixture risk in our scenario. We show how a retrospective assessment can test whether certain chemicals hypothesized as potential drivers in the prospective assessment could have, or are having, deleterious effects on aquatic life. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:690-702. C

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Quantification of Occurrence and Fate of Trace Organic Compounds During Secondary Wastewater Treatment

Cited by 3 publications

References 1 publication

The Effects of Solids Retention Time in Full‐Scale Activated Sludge Basins on Trace Organic Contaminant Concentrations

The Effects of Solids Retention Time in Full‐Scale Activated Sludge Basins on Trace Organic Contaminant Concentrations

A Proposed Suite of Indicators for Assessing the Efficiency of Secondary Treatment for the Removal of Organic Trace Compounds — WERF CEC4R08

Use of prospective and retrospective risk assessment methods that simplify chemical mixtures associated with treated domestic wastewater discharges

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