During the last decade, several screening programs for pharmaceuticals at Swedish wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been conducted by research institutes, county councils, and wastewater treatment companies. In this study, influent and effluent concentrations compiled from these screening programs were used to assess the occurrence and reduction of non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals for human usage. The study is limited to full-scale WWTPs with biological treatment. Based on the data compiled, a total of 70 non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals have been detected, at concentrations ranging from a few ng/L to several μg/L, in the influent water. The influent concentrations were compared with the sale volumes and for many pharmaceuticals it was shown that only a small fraction of the amount sold reaches WWTPs as dissolved parent compounds. Pharmaceuticals with low reduction degrees at traditional WWTPs were identified. Further comparison based on the biological treatment showed lower reduction degrees for several pharmaceuticals in trickling filter plants compared with activated sludge plants with nitrogen removal.
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Research Article|
August 01 2012
Occurrence and reduction of pharmaceuticals in the water phase at Swedish wastewater treatment plants Available to Purchase
P. Falås;
1Water and Environmental Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
E-mail: [email protected]
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H. R. Andersen;
H. R. Andersen
2Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, B113 DK-2800 Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
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A. Ledin;
A. Ledin
1Water and Environmental Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
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J. la Cour Jansen
J. la Cour Jansen
1Water and Environmental Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
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Water Sci Technol (2012) 66 (4): 783–791.
Article history
Received:
January 31 2012
Accepted:
March 29 2012
Citation
P. Falås, H. R. Andersen, A. Ledin, J. la Cour Jansen; Occurrence and reduction of pharmaceuticals in the water phase at Swedish wastewater treatment plants. Water Sci Technol 1 August 2012; 66 (4): 783–791. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2012.243
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