Pharmaceuticals Removal by Ozone and Electro-Oxidation in Combination with Biological Treatment
This study investigated the efficiency of two advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), ozonation (O<sub>3</sub>), and electrochemical oxidation (EO), applied individually or in combination, in the removal of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) contained in hospital wastewaters, focusing...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/18/3180 |
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| author | Francesca Audino Judith Arboleda Mira Petrovic Ricard García Cudinach Sonia Sanchis Pérez |
| author_facet | Francesca Audino Judith Arboleda Mira Petrovic Ricard García Cudinach Sonia Sanchis Pérez |
| author_sort | Francesca Audino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study investigated the efficiency of two advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), ozonation (O<sub>3</sub>), and electrochemical oxidation (EO), applied individually or in combination, in the removal of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) contained in hospital wastewaters, focusing on pharmaceuticals. The optimisation of the single technologies was performed using synthetic wastewater composed of four refractory pharmaceuticals, (carbamazepine-CBZ, lorazepam-LZP, ketoprofen-KTP, 10,11-epoxicarbamazepine-E-CBZ), first alone and then in mixture, in an initial concentration of 1 mg L<sup>−1</sup> each. Once the best operational conditions for EO and O<sub>3</sub> were defined, their combination (both simultaneous and sequential) was evaluated for the mixture of the selected pharmaceuticals. The treatment solution that showed the best performance was the simultaneous combination of O<sub>3</sub> and EO. This treatment was validated using real hospital wastewater previously treated through a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR), evaluating its viability by testing the toxicity of the final effluent via <i>Vibrio fischeri</i> inhibition tests. The obtained results showed that the simultaneous combination of O<sub>3</sub> and EO as the polishing step after a biological treatment is a very promising solution for hospital wastewater treatment, allowing for obtaining a non-toxic effluent and full degradation of refractory compounds. The disinfection potential of the proposed AOP was also assessed by determining <i>Escherichia coli</i> inactivation potential. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:51:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2dbd4a6a89d447a48e311086b39067ce |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:51:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-2dbd4a6a89d447a48e311086b39067ce2023-11-19T13:24:57ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412023-09-011518318010.3390/w15183180Pharmaceuticals Removal by Ozone and Electro-Oxidation in Combination with Biological TreatmentFrancesca Audino0Judith Arboleda1Mira Petrovic2Ricard García Cudinach3Sonia Sanchis Pérez4Leitat Technological Center, 08225 Terrassa, SpainLeitat Technological Center, 08225 Terrassa, SpainCatalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), 17003 Girona, SpainDeisa Industrial Water Solutions SL, 08820 Barcelona, SpainLeitat Technological Center, 08225 Terrassa, SpainThis study investigated the efficiency of two advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), ozonation (O<sub>3</sub>), and electrochemical oxidation (EO), applied individually or in combination, in the removal of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) contained in hospital wastewaters, focusing on pharmaceuticals. The optimisation of the single technologies was performed using synthetic wastewater composed of four refractory pharmaceuticals, (carbamazepine-CBZ, lorazepam-LZP, ketoprofen-KTP, 10,11-epoxicarbamazepine-E-CBZ), first alone and then in mixture, in an initial concentration of 1 mg L<sup>−1</sup> each. Once the best operational conditions for EO and O<sub>3</sub> were defined, their combination (both simultaneous and sequential) was evaluated for the mixture of the selected pharmaceuticals. The treatment solution that showed the best performance was the simultaneous combination of O<sub>3</sub> and EO. This treatment was validated using real hospital wastewater previously treated through a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR), evaluating its viability by testing the toxicity of the final effluent via <i>Vibrio fischeri</i> inhibition tests. The obtained results showed that the simultaneous combination of O<sub>3</sub> and EO as the polishing step after a biological treatment is a very promising solution for hospital wastewater treatment, allowing for obtaining a non-toxic effluent and full degradation of refractory compounds. The disinfection potential of the proposed AOP was also assessed by determining <i>Escherichia coli</i> inactivation potential.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/18/3180CECshospital wastewaterAOPselectro-oxidationozonationtoxicity |
| spellingShingle | Francesca Audino Judith Arboleda Mira Petrovic Ricard García Cudinach Sonia Sanchis Pérez Pharmaceuticals Removal by Ozone and Electro-Oxidation in Combination with Biological Treatment Water CECs hospital wastewater AOPs electro-oxidation ozonation toxicity |
| title | Pharmaceuticals Removal by Ozone and Electro-Oxidation in Combination with Biological Treatment |
| title_full | Pharmaceuticals Removal by Ozone and Electro-Oxidation in Combination with Biological Treatment |
| title_fullStr | Pharmaceuticals Removal by Ozone and Electro-Oxidation in Combination with Biological Treatment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pharmaceuticals Removal by Ozone and Electro-Oxidation in Combination with Biological Treatment |
| title_short | Pharmaceuticals Removal by Ozone and Electro-Oxidation in Combination with Biological Treatment |
| title_sort | pharmaceuticals removal by ozone and electro oxidation in combination with biological treatment |
| topic | CECs hospital wastewater AOPs electro-oxidation ozonation toxicity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/18/3180 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT francescaaudino pharmaceuticalsremovalbyozoneandelectrooxidationincombinationwithbiologicaltreatment AT juditharboleda pharmaceuticalsremovalbyozoneandelectrooxidationincombinationwithbiologicaltreatment AT mirapetrovic pharmaceuticalsremovalbyozoneandelectrooxidationincombinationwithbiologicaltreatment AT ricardgarciacudinach pharmaceuticalsremovalbyozoneandelectrooxidationincombinationwithbiologicaltreatment AT soniasanchisperez pharmaceuticalsremovalbyozoneandelectrooxidationincombinationwithbiologicaltreatment |