Abstract
Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) reaching surface waters through municipal wastewater are a concern, as existing treatment processes poorly remove them. While significant lab-scale evaluations have been performed on treatment options, full-scale tests are lacking. Presented is an experimental study from a full-scale research facility that is imbedded in a functioning municipal wastewater plant. Reverse osmosis and ozonation were tested as part of an active treatment train using secondary treated effluent from the adjoining facility. Reverse osmosis removed 92.6%, 99.0%, 99.6%, 97.8%, 99.0%, 99.6%, 99.9%, and 99.2% of metformin, cotinine, trimethoprim, caffeine, venlafaxine, carbamazepine, erythromycin, and fluoxetine, respectively. By ozone, sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine, erythromycin and o-desmethylvenlafaxine were removed by more than 99.9%. Trimethoprim and venlafaxine were removed by more than 95%, with the remaining compounds removed by between 16% and 85%. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of reverse osmosis and ozonation for full-scale treatment.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This research was jointly funded by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the City of Calgary.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 11 • November 2020
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History
Received: Dec 6, 2019
Accepted: Apr 13, 2020
Published online: Aug 18, 2020
Published in print: Nov 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jan 18, 2021
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Biological processes
- Chemical processes
- Chemistry
- Ecosystems
- Environmental engineering
- Industrial wastes
- Municipal wastewater
- Municipal water
- Osmosis
- Ozonization
- Pollutants
- Solid wastes
- Surface water
- Waste management
- Wastes
- Wastewater management
- Wastewater treatment
- Water (by type)
- Water and water resources
- Water management
- Water reclamation
- Water treatment
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