Sorption of Statin Pharmaceuticals to Wastewater-Treatment Biosolids, Terrestrial Soils, and Freshwater Sediment
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 3
Abstract
The sorption kinetics and equilibrium endpoints of two widely prescribed anionic lipid-regulating pharmaceuticals—atorvastatin and simvastatin acid—were evaluated for wastewater-treatment plant primary clarifier biosolids, a peat soil, a sandy soil, and a stream sediment. All equilibrium isotherms were linear over an aqueous concentration range of to greater than . values for statin sorption to biosolids were 2.91 and 2.96 for atorvastatin and simvastatin acids, respectively. Comparative isotherm experiments with the peat soil, sandy soil, and stream sediment found values for atorvastatin of 2.96, 2.70, and 3.20, respectively, and values of 2.89, 2.81, and 3.33 for simvastatin acid, respectively. Sorption was noncompetitive between the two statin drugs. Temperature changes did not affect sorption of either statin over the range of , indicating that heats of sorption were near zero. Taken together, these observations suggest that despite its anionic structure, statin sorption occurs via partition (solubilization) of the hydrophobic part of the molecule into the sorbent organic matter. Results from kinetic experiments show that statin sorption to biosolids reaches equilibrium much more rapidly compared to the soils and sediment, as the mass-transfer-rate coefficient, , for the two-site equilibrium/kinetic model is approximately one-order-of magnitude higher for the biosolids. Presentation of these sorption data provides a requisite first step for future studies of statin fate and transport in wastewater-treatment plants and the environment.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 3 • March 2010
Pages: 256 - 264
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 3, 2009
Accepted: Jul 13, 2009
Published online: Jul 17, 2009
Published in print: Mar 2010
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