Treatment of High-Strength Pharmaceutical Wastewater and Removal of Antibiotics in Anaerobic and Aerobic Biological Treatment Processes
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 1
Abstract
Anaerobic and aerobic treatment of high-strength pharmaceutical wastewater was evaluated in this study. A batch test was performed to study the biodegradability of the wastewater, and the result indicated that a combination anaerobic-aerobic treatment system was effective in removing organic matter from the high-strength pharmaceutical wastewater. Based on the batch test, a pilot-scale system composed of an anaerobic baffled reactor followed by a biofilm airlift suspension reactor was designed. At a stable operational period, effluent chemical oxygen demand (COD) from the anaerobic baffled reactor ranged from 1,432 to at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 1.25 day, and 979 to at an HRT of 2.5 day, respectively, when influent COD ranged from 9,736 to . As a result, effluent COD of the biofilm airlift suspension reactor varied between 256 and at HRTs of from 5.0 to 12.5 h. The antibiotics ampicillin and aureomycin, with influent concentrations of 3.2 and , respectively, could be partially degraded in the anaerobic baffled reactor: ampicillin and aureomycin removal efficiencies were 16.4 and 25.9% with an HRT of 1.25 day, and 42.1 and 31.3% with HRT of 2.5 day, respectively. Although effective in COD removal, the biofilm airlift suspension reactor did not display significant antibiotic removal, and the removal efficiencies of the two antibiotics were less than 10%.
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Acknowledgments
The laboratory assistance of Ms. Xiuyu Zhang and Ms. Xiaojuan Ruan, Water Quality Laboratory, Fuzhou Pharmaceutical Company, is greatly appreciated.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 1 • January 2006
Pages: 129 - 136
Copyright
© ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 3, 2004
Accepted: May 10, 2005
Published online: Jan 1, 2006
Published in print: Jan 2006
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