Pharmaceutical effluents

Significant parameters to be considered in designing a treatment and disposal facility for pharmaceutical wastewater are given in Table 12. Biochemical oxygen demand measurements of the waste have been reported to increase greatly with dilution, indicating the presence of toxic or inhibitory substances in some pharmaceutical effluents. The toxicity impact upon various biological treatments by various antibiotics, bactericidal-type compounds, and other pharmaceuticals has been described in the literature [21-24]. 

Production processes used in the pharmaceutical/fine chemical, cosmetic, textile, rubber, and other industries result in wastewaters containing significant levels of aliphatic solvents. It has been reported that of the 1000 tons per year of EC-defined toxic wastes generated in Ireland, organic solvents contribute 66% of the waste [27]. A survey of the constituents of pharmaceutical wastewater in Ireland has reported that aliphatic solvents contribute a significant proportion of the BOD/COD content of pharmaceutical effluents. Organic solvents are flammable, malodorous, and potentially toxic to aquatic organisms and thus require complete elimination by wastewater treatment systems. 

Delaine, J. Gough, D. An evaluation of process for treatment of pharmaceutical effluents. 3rd International Conference on Effluent Treatment from Biochemical Industry, Wheatland Watford, England, 1980. 

The technology has been demonstrated in pilot-scale and full-scale applications to treat pharmaceutical effluent, oily wastewater, landfill leachate, tanneries effluent, contaminated ground-water, and food effluents. ZenoGem is patented and commercially available. 

Motoc S, Manea F, Pop A (2012) Electrochemical degradation of pharmaceutical effluents on carbon-based electrodes. Environ Eng Manag J 11 627-634... 

Uses. The principal uses of NaBH are ia synthesis of pharmaceuticals (qv) and fine organic chemicals removal of trace impurities from bulk organic chemicals wood-pulp bleaching, clay leaching, and vat-dye reductions and removal and recovery of trace metals from plant effluents. 

AOPs are valuable tertiary treatments allowing not only inactivation of a wide spectrum of pathogens but also the removal of a great number of the so-called emerging pollutants (pharmaceutical, personal care products). These are not totally removed during conventional treatment, but remain in the wastewater effluents [33]. Among different alternatives electrochemical oxidation with bom doped diamond electrodes (BDD) has been reported to be effective on eliminating... 

It is well documented that WWTP are major contributors of pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs in the aquatic environment, due to their incomplete removal in conventional activated sludge (CAS) treatment, resulting in important loads discharged into river waters through effluent wastewaters (Tables 1 and 2). 

Table 1 Occurrence of pharmaceutical residues in WWTPs effluents...

Vieno NM, Tuhkanen T, Kronberg L (2005) Seasonal variation in the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in effluents from a sewage treatment plant and in the recipient water. Environ Sci Technol 39 8220-8226... 

Bartelt-Hunt SL, Snow DD, Damon T, Shockley J, Hoagland K (2009) The occurrence of illicit and therapeutic pharmaceuticals in wastewater effluent and surface waters in Nebraska. Environ Pollut 157(3) 786-791... 

Roberts PH, Thomas KV (2006) The occurrence of selected pharmaceuticals in wastewater effluent and surface waters of the lower Tyne catchment. Sci Total Environ 356 143-153... 

The facility considered in the industrial case study is a pharmaceuticals production plant, which produces a wide variety of consumer products, e.g. shampoos and creams, and female sanitary products. The plant was chosen due to the fact that production was carried out in batch mode. In a year the plant uses on average 90000 m3 of water, with approximately 60-70% of this discarded as effluent. An on-site treatment facility pre-treats wastewater produced from the site to a level where the water can be discharged into the municipal water system. 

While variety of pharmaceutical residues have been detected in effluent and surface water samples, only few works have been reported regarding their occurrence in sewage sludge samples. 

Fig. 3 Concentrations of main families of pharmaceuticals found in treated effluents from urban wastewater treatment plants [136]...

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents are used extensively as nonprescription drugs, and residues of these compounds have been detected ubiquitously in WWTP effluents at the pg L 1 levels, and they also frequently occur at the ng L 1 level in the aquatic environment (see [2], this volume). As a result, many researchers have focused on the degradation of these pharmaceuticals, which are one of the most studied groups of therapeutic agents in terms of fungal transformation. 

---