Technical Papers
Dec 3, 2018

Detection, Occurrence, and Treatment of Nonylphenol and Bisphenol-A in Taiwanese Drinking Water Sources

Publication: Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 23, Issue 2

Abstract

This study investigated the occurrence and treatment of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), i.e., nonylphenol (NP) and bisphenol-A (BPA), in Taiwanese drinking water sources. The performance of coagulation-sedimentation and rapid filtration in removing a suite of EDCs was evaluated. The rapid filtration process was more effective in removing EDCs than the coagulation and sedimentation processes. In addition, the bioassay techniques E-SCREEN and T47D-KBluc were also used to assess water quality for human health protection. The humic acid may form a gel cake on the surface of membrane and enhance the removal efficiency. Calcium ions not only increase the ionic strength of the solution but also compress the double layer between the adsorbent and the adsorbate, resulting in enhanced removal efficiency. It was thus concluded that both enhancements of ionic strength and molecular size would increase the efficiency of EDC removal. The two selected bioassays suggested that the water quality in Taiwan is satisfactory and good for human health.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs Water Resources Agency (MOEAWRA) Grant No. 1030052, Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) Grant Nos. 107-3113-E-007-002, and MOST 104-2119-M-002-001. We are grateful to the team at the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, for their valuable technical assistance.

References

Abtahi, S. M., S. Ilyas, C. Joannis Cassan, C. Albasi, and W. M. de Vos. 2018. “Micropollutants removal from secondary-treated municipal wastewater using weak polyelectrolyte multilayer based nanofiltration membranes.” J. Membr. Sci. 548 (15): 654–666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2017.10.045.
Aerni, H. R., et al. 2004. “Combined biological and chemical assessment of estrogenic activities in wastewater treatment plant effluents.” Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 378 (3): 688–696. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-003-2276-4.
Bergamasco, A. M. D. D., M. Eldridge, J. Sanseverino, F. F. Sodré, C. C. Montagner, I. C. Pescara, W. F. Jardim, and G. de Aragao Umbuzeiro. 2011. “Bioluminescent yeast estrogen assay (BLYES) as a sensitive tool to monitor surface and drinking water for estrogenicity.” J. Environ. Monit. 13 (11): 3288 https://doi.org/10.1039/c1em10464k.
Brown, K. D., J. Kulis, B. Thomson, T. H. Chapman, and D. B. Mawhinney. 2006. “Occurrence of antibiotics in hospital, residential, and dairy effluent, municipal wastewater, and the Rio Grande in New Mexico.” Sci. Total Environ. 366 (2–3): 772–783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.10.007.
Chang, E. E., C. H. Liang, C. P. Huang, and P. C. Chiang. 2012. “A simplified method for elucidating the effect of size exclusion on nanofiltration membranes.” Sep. Purif. Technol. 85 (2): 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2011.05.002.
Evers, N. M., J. H. van den Berg, S. Wang, D. Melchers, R. Houtman, L. H. de Haan, A. G. Ederveen, J. P. Groten, and I. M. Rietjens. 2014. “Cell proliferation and modulation of interaction of estrogen receptors with coregulators induced by ER alpha and ER beta agonists.” J. Steroid Biochem. Molecularbiol. 143: 376–385.
Golet, E. M., A. C. Alder, and W. Giger. 2002. “Environmental exposure and risk assessment of fluoroquinolone antibacterial agents in wastewater and river water of the Glatt Valley Watershed, Switzerland.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 36 (17): 3645–3651. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0256212.
Gorenflo, A., D. Velázquez-Padrón, and F. H. Frimmel. 2003. “Nanofiltration of a German groundwater of high hardness and NOM content: Performance and costs.” Desalination 151 (3): 253–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0011-9164(02)01018-4.
Gou, Y. Y., et al. 2016. “Estrogenic effects in the influents and effluents of the drinking water treatment plants.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. Int. 23 (9): 8518–8528. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5946-9.
Gross, B., J. Montgomery Brown, A. Naumann, and M. Reinhard. 2004. “Occurrence and fate of pharmaceuticals and alkylphenol ethoxylate metabolites in an effluent-dominated river and wetland.” Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 23 (9): 2074–2083. https://doi.org/10.1897/03-606.
Heberer, T. 2002. “Tracking persistent pharmaceutical residues from municipal sewage to drinking water.” J. Hydrol. 266 (3–4): 175–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(02)00165-8.
Huang, X., J. Huang, L. Zhang, Y. Zhu, and Y. Li. 2014. “A novel ERα-mediated reporter gene assay for screening estrogenic/antiestrogenic chemicals based on LLC-MK2 cells.” Toxicol. Mech. Methods 24 (9): 627–632. https://doi.org/10.3109/15376516.2014.945107.
Kim, S. D., J. Cho, I. S. Kim, B. J. Vanderford, and S. A. Snyder. 2007. “Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors in South Korean surface, drinking, and waste waters.” Water Res. 41 (5): 1013–1021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2006.06.034.
Kimura, K., S. Toshima, G. Amy, and Y. Watanabe. 2004. “Rejection of neutral endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs) by RO membranes.” J. Membr. Sci. 245 (1–2): 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2004.07.018.
Kiso, Y., Y. J. Jung, T. Ichinari, M. Park, T. Kitao, K. Nishimura, and K. S. Min. 2000. “Wastewater treatment performance of a filtration bio-reactor equipped with a mesh as a filter material.” Water Res. 34 (17): 4143–4150. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(00)00201-3.
Kolpin, D. W., E. T. Furlong, M. T. Meyer, E. M. Thurman, S. D. Zaugg, L. B. Barber, and H. T. Buxton. 2002. “Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in US streams, 1999–2000: A national reconnaissance.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 36 (6): 1202–1211. https://doi.org/10.1021/es011055j.
Kosutic, K., and B. Kunst. 2002. “RO and NF membrane fouling and cleaning and pore size distribution variations.” Desalination 150 (2): 113–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0011-9164(02)00936-0.
Leusch, F. D. L., C. de Jager, Y. Levi, R. Lim, L. Puijker, F. Sacher, L. A. Tremblay, V. S. Wilson, and H. F. Chapman. 2010. “Comparison of five in vitro bioassays to measure estrogenic activity in environmental waters.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 44 (10): 3853–3860. https://doi.org/10.1021/es903899d.
Loraine, G. A., and M. E. Pettigrove. 2006. “Seasonal variations in concentrations of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in drinking water and reclaimed wastewater in southern California.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 40 (3): 687–695. https://doi.org/10.1021/es051380x.
Nghiem, L. D., A. I. Schäfer, and M. Elimelech. 2005. “Pharmaceutical retention mechanisms by nanofiltration membranes.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 39 (19): 7698–7705. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0507665.
Peiris, B. R. H., C. Hallé, J. Haberkamp, R. L. Legge, S. Peldszus, C. Moresoli, H. Budman, G. Amy, M. Jekel, and P. M. Huck. 2008. “Assessing nanofiltration fouling in drinking water treatment using fluorescence fingerprinting and LC-OCD analyses.” Water Sci. Technol. Water Supply 8 (4): 459 https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2008.095.
Pereira, R. O., C. Postigo, M. L. de Alda, L. A. Daniel, and D. Barceló. 2011. “Removal of estrogens through water disinfection processes and formation of by-products.” Chemosphere 82 (6): 789–799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.10.082.
Roda, A., M. Mirasoli, E. Michelini, M. Magliulo, P. Simoni, M. Guardigli, R. Curini, M. Sergi, and A. Marino. 2006. “Analytical approach for monitoring endocrine-disrupting compounds in urban waste water treatment plants.” Anal. Bioanal.Chem. 385 (4): 742–752. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-006-0473-7.
Schaep, J., B. Van der Bruggen, C. Vandecasteele, and D. Wilms. 1998. “Influence of ion size and charge in nanofiltration.” Sep. Purif. Technol. 14 (1–3): 155–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1383-5866(98)00070-7.
Schilirò T., A. Porfido, A. Longo, S. Coluccia, and G. Gilli. 2013. “The E-screen test and the MELN gene-reporter assay used for determination of estrogenic activity in fruits and vegetables in relation to pesticide residues.” Food Chem. Toxicol. 62 (Dec): 82–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2013.07.067.
Shah, K. J., S. Y. Pan, A. D. Shukla, D. O. Shah, and P. C. Chiang. 2018. “Mechanism of organic pollutants sorption from aqueous solution by cationic tunable organoclays.” J. Colloid Interface Sci. 529: 90–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2018.05.094.
Tang, C. Y., Y. N. Kwon, and J. O. Leckie. 2007. “Fouling of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes by humic acid—Effects of solution composition and hydrodynamic conditions.” J. Membr. Sci. 290 (1–2): 86–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2006.12.017.
Ternes, T. A., M. Meisenheimer, D. McDowell, F. Sacher, H. J. Brauch, B. Haist-Gulde, G. Preuss, U. Wilme, and N. Zulei-Seibert. 2002. “Removal of pharmaceuticals during drinking water treatment.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 36 (17): 3855–3863. https://doi.org/10.1021/es015757k.
Van der Bruggen, B., J. Schaep, D. Wilms, and C. Vandecasteele. 1999. “Influence of molecular size, polarity and charge on the retention of organic molecules by nanofiltration.” J. Membr. Sci. 156 (1): 29–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0376-7388(98)00326-3.
Wang, J., L. Wang, C. Xu, R. Zhi, R. Miao, T. Liang, X. Yue, Y. Lv, and T. Liu. 2018. “Perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorobutane sulfonate removal from water by nanofiltration membrane: The roles of solute concentration, ionic strength, and macromolecular organic foulants.” Chem. Eng. J. 332 (15): 787–797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2017.09.061.
Westerhoff, P., Y. Yoon, S. Snyder, and E. Wert. 2005. “Fate of endocrine-disruptor, pharmaceutical, and personal care product chemicals during simulated drinking water treatment processes.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 39 (17): 6649–6663. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0484799.
Wilson, V. S., K. Bobseine, and L. E. Gray Jr. 2004. “Development and characterization of a cell line that stably expresses an estrogen-responsive luciferase reporter for the detection of estrogen receptor agonist and antagonists.” Toxicol. Sci. 81 (1): 69–77. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfh180.
Xu, Y., and R. E. Lebrun. 1999. “Investigation of the solute separation by charged nanofiltration membrane: Effect of pH, ionic strength and solute type.” J. Membr. Sci. 158 (1–2): 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0376-7388(99)00005-8.
Zeng, Q., W. C. Cao, L. Xu, Y. Z. Chen, L. J. Yun, A. L. Liu, J. Zhang, and W. Q. Lu. 2013. “Spatial and temporal evaluations of estrogenic activity in tap water served by a water plant in Wuhan, China.” Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 91 (1): 198–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2013.02.003.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 23Issue 2April 2019

History

Received: Apr 30, 2018
Accepted: Jun 26, 2018
Published online: Dec 3, 2018
Published in print: Apr 1, 2019
Discussion open until: May 3, 2019

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Yung-Dun Dai, Ph.D.
Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan Univ., No. 71, Chou-Shan Rd., Taipei 10673, Taiwan.
How-Ran Chao
Professor, Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering, National Pingtung Univ. of Science and Technology, Pingtung 91201, Taiwan.
Pen-Chi Chiang [email protected]
Distinguished Professor, Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan Univ., No. 71, Chou-Shan Rd., Taipei 10673, Taiwan; Carbon Cycle Research Center, National Taiwan Univ., No. 71, Chou-Shan Rd., Taipei 10673, Taiwan (corresponding author). Email: [email protected]

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

Cited by

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share