Review of Endocrine-Disrupting-Compound Removal Technologies in Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants: An EU Perspective

Abstract

Xenobiotic persistent organic pollutants are ubiquitous in the environment (air, water, soil, biota), and this is the origin of the rising concern about their potential impact. Recent advances in chemical analysis at trace levels and a lack of knowledge about the fate and transport of reference compounds lead to a strong research demand in this area. In this context, special attention is focused on control technologies in water and wastewater involving the application of advanced technologies to minimize their environmental release. After presenting the environmental and sanitary impacts associated with the main classes of persistent xenobiotic compounds, this article focuses on endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), a class of chemicals interfering with the endocrine systems of mammals and lower animals. In the second part of this article, the basic principles of the advanced technologies used for EDC control in water and wastewater are critically discussed with specific reference to their engineering aspects.

Combined Process of Ozone Oxidation and Ultrafiltration as an Effective Treatment Technology for the Removal of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals

“…Researchers have explored a number of methods for eliminating EDCs, such as physical removal [9], chemical oxidation [10] and bio-degradation [11]. Among these technologies, ultrafiltation (UF) and ozonation (O3) exhibited advantages in practical reclaimed water projects for EDC removal [12].…”

Nanomaterials for the Abatement of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products from Wastewater

“…RO and NF are particularly useful methods for the removal of micro-pollutants from drinking water, though there is still some lack of knowledge about their actual performance, which is influenced by several factors [6,24,25], such as the selectivity of organic and inorganic compound Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, Table 1) are highly consumed drugs with analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects: they are found in WWTPs (in concentrations up to µg L −1 ) and in surface waters (in concentrations of ng L −1 ). Some of them, like aspirin, naproxen, ibuprofen, etc.…”

“…The best results with micro-pollutants like PPCPs are usually obtained with either membrane technology (i.e., by reverse osmosis (RO) or nanofiltration (NF)) or adsorption [6]. RO is a method based of a semipermeable membrane able to remove certain ions and particles from a liquid stream.…”

“…Their very low concentration, ranging from a few ng L −1 to µg L −1 , gives rise to a phenomenon known as micro-pollution, which makes difficult their detection, analysis and degradation in wastewater treatment plants [1]: usually, the latter are not designed and built to treat such low concentrations, mainly due to a lack in both discharge guidelines and in environmental quality standards [1,6].…”

“…Due to the availability of new (sensible and precise) analytic techniques, including liquid and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy [6,7], able to measure concentrations as small as nanograms, it is now possible to detect and characterize such water micro-pollutants. The latter are also called emerging contaminants (ECs), because data concerning their transport, fate, toxicity and tolerated concentration in water bodies are not completely available [4].…”