Systematic evaluation of biomarker stability in pilot scale sewer pipes

Gao, Jianfa; Jiang, Guangming; Shypanski, Adam; Nieradzik, Ludwika; Yuan, Zhiguo; Mueller, Jochen F.; Ort, Christoph; Thai, Phong K.

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2018.12.032

Cited by 47 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…This means that the load that enters the sewer system may differ from the load sampled (93). In planning this study, we avoided measuring biomarkers known to transform rapidly in sewer systems such as paracetamol (94). The extent of in-sewer transformation is catchment-specific and is not known for all chemicals tested in this study, in some cases due to the novel nature of their application.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social, demographic, and economic correlates of food and chemical consumption measured by wastewater-based epidemiology

Choi

Tscharke

Samanipour

et al. 2019

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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116

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Wastewater is a potential treasure trove of chemicals that reflects population behavior and health status. Wastewater-based epidemiology has been employed to determine population-scale consumption of chemicals, particularly illicit drugs, across different communities and over time. However, the sociodemographic or socioeconomic correlates of chemical consumption and exposure are unclear. This study explores the relationships between catchment specific sociodemographic parameters and biomarkers in wastewater generated by the respective catchments. Domestic wastewater influent samples taken during the 2016 Australian census week were analyzed for a range of diet, drug, pharmaceutical, and lifestyle biomarkers. We present both linear and rank-order (i.e., Pearson and Spearman) correlations between loads of 42 biomarkers and census-derived metrics, index of relative socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), median age, and 40 socioeconomic index for area (SEIFA) descriptors. Biomarkers of caffeine, citrus, and dietary fiber consumption had strong positive correlations with IRSAD, while tramadol, atenolol, and pregabalin had strong negative correlation with IRSAD. As expected, atenolol and hydrochlorothiazide correlated positively with median age. We also found specific SEIFA descriptors such as occupation and educational attainment correlating with each biomarker. Our study demonstrates that wastewater-based epidemiology can be used to study sociodemographic influences and disparities in chemical consumption.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social, demographic, and economic correlates of food and chemical consumption measured by wastewater-based epidemiology

Choi

Tscharke

Samanipour

et al. 2019

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

116

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“…[2][3][4][5] In order to improve the accuracy of back-estimation, researches have been widely conducted to address the uncertainties associated with sampling method and chemical analysis, [5][6][7][8][9] while a comprehensive understanding of biomarkers stability in real sewers is still ongoing. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Biomarkers are subjected to physiochemical and biological processes during their transport in rising main and gravity sewer pipes, where the hydraulic retention time (HRT) may last for hours. 18 Neglecting the biomarkers transformation (e.g., the degradation or formation in sewers) will lead to an under-or over-estimation of drug consumption in a catchment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…15 Depending on the different experimental scales and conditions utilized, research on biomarker stability can be divided into four categories: 1) in-water study using clean/sterile bottles or other containers where abiotic processes such as chemical hydrolysis occur in water; 14,20,21 2) in-wastewater study that is conducted in raw wastewater where suspended biomass and certain microbial activities contribute to the transformation process; 12,14,[21][22][23][24][25] 3) sewer reactor study employing lab reactors with intact/suspended biofilms or activated sludge to mimic the biologically active sewer environments; 10-12, 14, 16, 4) real sewer pipe study using the sewer pipes with the same (or similar) size and operational conditions as the real sewer networks. 10,15,17,26,27 Among the real sewer pipe studies, two of them assessed the change of biomarkers using 24-h composite samples, however, with limited understanding of the concurrent in-pipe hydraulics or biological activities. 15,26 Two other studies spiked biomarkers in a real rising main pipe and evaluated their variations from the pipe upstream to a downstream sampling point, coupled with the measurements of flow dynamics and biological activities in the pipe.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This has been demonstrated in a recent real sewer pipe study investigating the fate of pharmaceutical biomarkers. 17 The temporal transformation data obtained in pilot-scale sewers can be very valuable for the modelling of biomarker stability. Transformation modelling is a useful approach with which to utilize information on biomarker stability in the application of WBE in reality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimental Investigation and Modeling of the Transformation of Illicit Drugs in a Pilot-Scale Sewer System

Gao

Thai

Shypanski

et al. 2019

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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In-sewer stability of illicit drug biomarkers has been evaluated by several reactorbased studies but less has been done in sewer pipes. Experiments conducted in sewer pipes have advantages over lab-scale reactors in providing more realistic biomarker stability due to the flow and biological dynamics. This study assessed the transportation and transformation of seven illicit drug biomarker compounds in a pilot-scale rising main and a gravity sewer pipe. Biomarkers presented diverse stability patterns in the pilot sewers, based on which a drug transformation model was calibrated. This model was subsequently validated using transformation datasets from literature, aiming to demonstrate the predictability of the pilot-based transformation coefficients under varying sewer conditions. Furthermore, transformation coefficients for five investigated biomarkers were generated from four studies and their prediction capabilities under the pilot sewer conditions were jointly assessed using performance statistics. The transformation model was successful in simulating the in-sewer stability for most illicit drugs. However, further study is required to delineate the sources and pathways for those compounds with potential formations to be simulated in the transformation model. Overall, the transformation model calibrated using the pilotsewer data is a credible tool for the application of wastewater-based epidemiology.

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“…The in-sewer fate of MPs that are investigated in this thesis has been presented in 27 . The MPs such as fexofenadine, venlafaxine, codeine, atenolol, hydrochlorothiazide, hydroxycotinine and cotinine were reported to be stable in lab sewer reactors or in the pilot rising main sewer 160,162 . In the real sewer system, cotinine, hydroxycotinine and sulfamethoxazole were reported to have negative removal 30,161 .…”

Section: Fate Of Organic Mps In the Sewer Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the fate of organic micropollutants due to the dosing of iron salt or iron rich drinking water treatment sludge in urban wastewater system

Kulandaivelu¹

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Hydrogen sulfide production in the sewer network is the major cause for sewer corrosion and odour related issues. Iron (Fe) salt dosing is one of the efficient methods for sulfide control in the sewer network by precipitating the biologically formed sulfide to iron sulfide (FeS) particles. Though Fe salt is efficient in controlling sulfide, it requires continuous dosing that necessitates the search for alternative cheap sources.Meanwhile, water utilities are seeking an efficient management strategy for the discharge of sludge by-product from the drinking water treatment process. This byproduct also known as drinking water treatment sludge (DWTS) is either Fe-rich or aluminium (Al)-rich based on the coagulant used. The high Fe content in Fe-DWTS, could potentially be used to replace Fe salts for sulfide control in the sewer network.During Fe salt/Fe-DWTS dosing, formation of FeS particles is considered as the major sulfide control mechanism in the sewer network. Previous studies explored the multiple benefits of upstream sewer Fe dosing in the downstream processes such as phosphates removal in the bioreactor and sulfide mitigation in the anaerobic digester of the receiving wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). However, it is also well known that Fe salt is an effective coagulant for organic micropollutants (MPs) removal in the water treatment processes. As organic MPs such as pharmaceuticals, licit and illicit drugs, food additives etc., are ubiquitous in wastewater, the impact of dosing Fe salt/Fe-DWTS in the sewer network on the fate of these MPs is important but largely unknown. This thesis aims to address this research gap by investigating the impact of upstream Fe salt/Fe-DWTS dosing in sewers on the fate of organic MPs in the downstream sewer network and treatment process.Firstly, the impact of Fe salt dosing on the fate of selected organic MPs (8 compounds) was studied in a lab-scale rising main sewer reactor. The sulfide produced by sewer biofilms reacted with Fe 3+ forming black coloured FeS. Among the selected MPs, morphine, methadone and atenolol had >90% initial rapid removal within 5 min of Fedosing in the sewer reactor. The ultimate removal after 6 hr of retention time in the reactor reached 93-97%. Other compounds, ketamine, codeine, carbamazepine and acesulfame had 30-70% decrease of aqueous concentrations. The ultimate removal varied between 35 and 70% depending on their biodegradability. In contrast, paracetamol had no initial removal. Adsorption to the surface of FeS particles was likely responsible for the rapid MPs removal. viii Contribution by others to the thesisThis thesis contains some significant and substantial contribution from others as described below.

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Systematic evaluation of biomarker stability in pilot scale sewer pipes

Cited by 47 publications

References 30 publications

Social, demographic, and economic correlates of food and chemical consumption measured by wastewater-based epidemiology

Social, demographic, and economic correlates of food and chemical consumption measured by wastewater-based epidemiology

Experimental Investigation and Modeling of the Transformation of Illicit Drugs in a Pilot-Scale Sewer System

Investigating the fate of organic micropollutants due to the dosing of iron salt or iron rich drinking water treatment sludge in urban wastewater system

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