Rural communities in central and eastern Europe usually use constructed wetlands (CWs) to treat domestic wastewater. Effluents from these systems are regularly discharged to receiving water, ...resulting in a potential transfer of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from sewage to the aquatic environment. In this study, the seasonal occurrence, removal and risk assessment of 32 multi-class PPCPs were investigated in three CWs from the village of south Bohemia, Czech Republic. Among the PPCPs considered, 25 compounds were detected in sewage influent, and ibuprofen, caffeine and paracetamol were the most commonly detected PPCPs. The removal efficiencies of PPCPs in the rural CWs exhibited large variability with 11–100% for anti-inflammatories, 37–99% for β-blockers and 18–95% for diuretics. The statistical results revealed significant correlations between removal efficiencies of six PPCPs and conventional water quality parameters. The ecotoxicological assessment study revealed that most of the PPCPs (except ibuprofen) in the effluent yielded low aquatic risk. This study suggested that constructed wetlands could be effective for removing PPCPs and reducing environmental risk of PPCPs discharged from rural communities into surface water systems.
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•Occurrence and removal of 32 pharmaceuticals from rural domestic wastewater were evaluated.•Hydrochlorothiazide and gabapentin removal were reported for the first time.•Pharmaceuticals were efficiently removed without significant seasonal variability.•Correlations between pharmaceuticals and water quality parameters were observed.•Ibuprofen in the effluent yielded high potential environmental risk.
A wide range of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are present in the environment, and many of their adverse effects are unknown. The environmental risk assessment of 26 PPCPs of ...relevant consumption and occurrence in the aquatic environment in Spain was accomplished in this research. Based on the ecotoxicity values obtained by bioluminescence and respirometry assays and by predictions using the US EPA ecological structure–activity relationship (ECOSAR™), the compounds were classified following the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. According to the criteria of the European Medicines Agency, the real risk of impact of these compounds in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and in the aquatic environment was predicted. In at least two ecotoxicity tests, 65.4 % of the PPCPs under study showed high toxicity or were harmful to aquatic organisms. The global order of the species’ sensitivity to the PPCPs considered was as follows: Vibrio fischeri (5 min) > Vibrio fischeri (15 min) > algae > crustaceans > fish > biomass of WWTP. Acetaminophen, ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, clofibrate, ibuprofen, omeprazole, triclosan, parabens and 1,4-benzoquinone showed some type of risk for the aquatic environments and/or for the activated sludge of WWTPs. Development of acute and chronic ecotoxicity data, the determination of predicted and measured environmental concentrations of PPCPs, the inclusion of metabolites and transformation products and the evaluation of mixtures of these compounds will allow further improvements of the results of the ERAs and, finally, to efficiently identify the compounds that could affect the environment.
The “emerging contaminants” (ECs) are predominantly unregulated anthropogenic chemicals that occur in air, soil, water, food, and human/animal tissues in trace concentrations. The ECs are persistent ...in the environment, capable of perturbing the physiology of target receptors and, therefore, are regarded as contaminants of emerging environmental concerns in recent years. The prominent classes of ECs include pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PCPs), surfactants, plasticizers, pesticides, fire retardants, and nanomaterials. Some of the ECs with harmful effects on endocrine systems have been recognized as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Since the 1990s intensive research has been done covering environmental occurrence, fate, ecological effects, and treatment technologies of ECs. However, a comprehensive summary of the EC removal techniques, particularly in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are limited. Though the WWTPs are inefficient when it comes to ECs removal, they act as primary barriers against the spread of ECs. Therefore, this paper reviews the treatment technologies currently engaged for ECs removal in WWTPs for further possible upgrades of the existing designs. Results of this review indicate that the fate and distribution of ECs can be approximately estimated based on physicochemical properties like octanol-water partitioning coefficient (e.g., log KOW > 4, maximum sorption potential) and solid-water distribution coefficient e.g., Kd < 300–500 L/kg MLSS (mixed liquor suspended solids), insignificant sorption into sludge. Biodegradation potential of ECs can be predicted from biodegradation constant values (e.g., Kbio < 0.01 = low biodegradation and >10 = high biodegradation). In WWTPs, the EC removal efficiency varies in the range of 20–50%, 30–70%, and >90% during the primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment steps, respectively. Tertiary treatment technologies are considered as the most suitable alternatives for ECs treatment, but complete ECs removal is yet to be achieved. Further advancements in the treatment technologies will unquestionably be necessary in the future.
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•Treatment technologies for emerging contaminants (ECs) are comprehensively reviewed.•The ECs with risk quotient, RQ > 1 have high environmental risk potential.•The ECs with biodegradation kinetics, Kbio > 10 are highly biodegradable in nature.•ASP and MBR are effective biological technologies for ECs removal.•Ozonation and activated carbon treatment are best performing tertiary treatments.
Falsified cosmetics are increasingly common especially online through social media networks and mobile applications. This study developed and validated a novel tool to evaluate the safety of ...cosmetics and personal care products in the United Araba Emirates (UAE). This is methodological validation study and the data were derived from a cross-sectional study conducted on students and staff at Ajman University (AU) in the UAE. The study sample was selected via simple random sampling. The link to the survey was sent to potential respondents via email, and the responses were analysed using SPSS version 26. Content validity, factor analysis, and known group validity were employed to construct and validate an instrument that will enable the identification of cosmetics safety. The instrument's reliability was evaluated using test-retest reliability, internal consistency, item internal consistency (IIC), and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). The study sample included 978 participants. The content validity index for the final 24-item scale was 0.84. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was 0.959 with a statistically significant Bartlett's test of sphericity (p <0.001). Factor analysis presented a three-component model. PCFA analysis found good fit values with 0.960 for the normed fit index, 0.977 for the comparative fit index, and 0.987 for the Tucker Lewis Index. All values were in excess of 0.95, and the root mean square error of approximation was below 0.06 (0.03); thus, the model had a good fit. Cronbach's alpha also showed good consistency of the overall instrument (0.963), and all factors had a Cronbach's alpha above 0.70. Each item on the instrument met the IIC correlation standard of greater than or equal to 0.40, and there were good overall ICC statistics of 0.963 (0.959-0.966) for the instrument as a whole with statistical significance (p < 0.001). The instrument's test-retest reliability was assessed by correlating the respondents' identification scores at two time points with a four-week gap revealing a correlation coefficient of 0.870 (p-value <0.01). Participants holding a bachelor's degree were more likely to be able to identify safe and authentic cosmetics than those with a high-school educational level (p = 0.015). This study developed a novel validated instrument to determine the safety of cosmetics. The final questionnaire uses 24 items on three dimensions (13 items on hazard information, eight items on product identity, and three items on product handling and storage). The tool is concise and easy to complete, and it is suitable for use among the general population. The use of this instrument can promote greater collaboration between the consumer health regulatory authorities and inspection authorities thus increasing consumer satisfaction and public participation.
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•An S-scheme heterojunction of Cd0.5Zn0.5S/Bi2MoO6 was developed.•The aggregation and photo-corrosion of Cd0.5Zn0.5S nanoparticles were suppressed.•Effective utilization of ...high-energetic photo-carriers was achieved.•Remarkably reinforced photocatalytic activity and stability was attained.•The enrofloxacin degradation pathway and the bio-toxicity evolution were unclosed.
The artificial S-scheme photocatalysis system, mimicking natural photosynthesis, has shown eminent potential for the photocatalytic destruction of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). Here, S-scheme heterostructures were fabricated by coupling Cd0.5Zn0.5S nanoparticles and Bi2MoO6 microspheres as efficacious photocatalyst for antibiotic oxidation.
The optimum Cd0.5Zn0.5S/Bi2MoO6 attains the highest enrofloxacin degradation efficiency of 76.3 % within 40 min, with a significant promotion of 1.8 and 2.6 folds compared to Cd0.5Zn0.5S and Bi2MoO6, respectively. The integration of Cd0.5Zn0.5S with Bi2MoO6 to gain the Cd0.5Zn0.5S/Bi2MoO6 S-scheme heterojunction can availably achieve the effective spatial photo-carrier dissolution and optimize the photo-redox capacity, leading to the significant optimization of photocatalytic performance and stability. The primary reactive species, enrofloxacin degradation pathways and photocatalysis mechanism were illustrated basing on the scavenging tests, ESR characterization, and the HPLC-MS analyses etc. The computational toxicology analysis unravels the weakened bio-toxicity of most intermediates than parent enrofloxacin. Significantly, it also manifests a preeminent catalytic efficacy for annihilating enrofloxacin in authentic water systems, manifesting its vast potential for annihilating PPCPs. This study underlines the impetus of S-scheme heterojunction fabrication and hierarchical heterostructure configuration for the development of high-performance photocatalysts for efficient purification of PPCPs.
Water is required for the existence of all living things. Water pollution has grown significantly, over the decades and now it has developed as a serious worldwide problem. The presence and ...persistence of Hazardous pollutants such as dyes, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, heavy metals, fertilizer and pesticides and their transformed products are the matter of serious environmental and health concerns. A variety of approaches have been tried to clean up water and maintain water quality. The type of pollutants present in the water determines the bulk of technological solutions. The main objective of this article was to review the occurrences and fate of hazardous contaminants (dyes, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, heavy metals, and pesticides) found in wastewater effluents. These effluents mingle with other streams of water and that are utilized for a variety of reasons such as irrigation and other domestic activities that is further complicating the issue. It also discussed traditional treatment approaches as well as current advances in hazardous pollutants removal employing graphite oxides, carbon nanotubes, metal organic structures, magnetic nano composites, and other innovative forms of useable materials. It also discussed the identification and quantification of harmful pollutants using various approaches, as well as current advancements. Finally, a risk assessment of hazardous pollutants in water is provided in terms of the human health and the environment. This data is anticipated to serve as a foundation for future improvements in hazardous pollutant risk assessment. Furthermore, future studies on hazardous pollutants must not only emphasize on the parent chemicals, as well as on their possible breakdown products in various media.
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•Occurrence and fate of hazardous pollutants were discussed.•Monitoring and detection methods of hazardous pollutants were elucidated.•Treatment methods for hazardous pollutants removal were explored.•Risk assessment in terms of environment and human health was addressed.
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•Brief summary of the existing knowledge regarding ECs.•Application and operational perspectives of classical and advanced treatment technologies.•The appropriateness of advanced ...integrated technologies for ECs removal.•Mechanisms involved in ECs removal processes.•Identification of the gap areas for future research and developments.
The presence and persistence of emerging contaminants(ECs) such as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), personal care products (PCPs), pharmaceuticals and their transformed products are the matter of serious environmental and health concerns. This review details the sources, classification, fate and transport of ECs, and the classical, advanced, and integrated treatment technologies for their removal. Up to 100% of β-blockers, pharmaceuticals, EDCs, and pesticides can be removed via advanced oxidation process. The microalgae/fungal strains and the anaerobic membrane bioreactors are also promising processes for PPCPs and EDCs removal. RO and NF membranes exhibited excellent removal efficiencies for range of ECs, however, these processes are conditioned with fouling issues. The combination of membrane separation and electrochemical oxidation is appeared efficacious to lessen the major confines of both technologies such as fouling in membrane process and the mass transfer constraint in the electrochemical oxidation process. The effect of operational parameters on the process efficiency, and the mechanisms involved in different processes were discussed. This review will help in selecting the best available technology (BAT) for specific contaminant under particular conditions.
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This review details the sources, classification, fate and transport of emerging contaminants and the recent researches and advancements for their treatment/elimination.
Although a series of past studies proved the potential usage of Fe-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as photocatalysts, there remains a knowledge gap of the photocatalytic mechanism stemming from ...the challenge to separate the simultaneous sorption and photocatalytic degradation. Thus, this article aimed to suggest a novel approach by desorbing target molecules during photocatalysis to excavate the underlying mechanisms of sorption and photocatalytic degradation. In this study, two Fe-based MOFs, MIL-101(Fe) and MIL-101(Fe)–NH2, were selected to remove clofibric acid under visible light irradiation. Prior to photocatalysis, sorption mechanism was uncovered based on the sorption kinetic, isotherm, thermodynamic interpretation, and of its dependence on solution pH. The results inferred that the primary sorption mechanism was through the π-π interaction between the benzene ring of clofibric acid and the organic ligand of Fe-based MOFs. Based on these results, photocatalytic mechanism could be independently or jointly assessed during the photocatalytic degradation of clofibric acid. Subsequently, the application of the Tauc method and XPS spectra revealed that the bandgap structure of Fe-based MOFs had the potential to oxidize clofibric acid by producing ROS through the electron excitation upon visible-light illumination. On top of that, the amine functionalization of Fe-based MOF altered the structural moiety that led to an additional strong acid-base interaction with clofibric acid but a decrease in the bandgap limiting the ROS production during photocatalytic activity.
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•Simultaneous sorption and photocatalytic degradation of clofibric acid using Fe-based MOFs was analyzed separately.•98.8% of clofibric acid was removed with MIL-101(Fe) in 24 h; 49.7% by photocatalysis, the rest by sorption.••OH was the dominant reactive species in photocatalytic degradation using MIL-101(Fe).•Amine functionalization of Fe-based MOF had a smaller bandgap, limiting photocatalytic activity.•Sorption during photocatalysis was critical for overall catalytic efficiency.
Wastewater is a complex matrix containing a wide range of chemical and biological markers of human activity. Relating concentrations of these “waste” materials in wastewater influent streams to ...population-scale use, consumption, or rates of exposure, can provide important qualitative or quantitative information on the activity of inhabitants within a given wastewater catchment. Many publications in this field of study have focussed on the usage of pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, tobacco and alcohol. However, many other potential applications are emerging which can contribute useful knowledge on human health, exposure to industrial chemicals, infectious diseases or pathogens and antibiotic resistance. This review summarises the established wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) biomarkers, and presents a critical review of the current capabilities of WBE. We further discuss possible future strategies and challenges anticipated in analysing wastewater to measure chemical markers of population health as well as biological markers of microbial exposure and disease.
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•Past and future capabilities of wastewater-based epidemiology are discussed.•Many promising biomarkers have yet to be applied or feasibility explored.•Biomarkers of food, diet and health have yet to be tested in wastewater.•Antibiotic resistance and microbiomes may be routinely monitored in wastewater.
