Nihan Özengin

Removal of Pharmaceutical Products in a Constructed Wetland

Background There is growing interest in the natural and constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment. While nutrient removal in wetlands has been extensively investigated, information regarding the degradation of the pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) has only recently been emerging. PPCPs are widely distributed in urban wastewaters and can be removed to some extent by the constructed wetlands. The medium-term (3-5 years) behavior of these systems regarding PPCP removal is still unknown. Objectives The efficiency of a Leca-based laboratory-scale constructed wetland planted with Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex. Steudel in treating an aqueous solution of the pharmaceuticals, namely, carbamazepine, ibuprofen, and sulfadiazine, was to investigate. Materials and Methods The two pilot-scale constructed wetlands (CW) were operated in parallel; one as an experimental unit (a planted reactor with P. australis) and the other as a control (an unplanted reactor with Leca). Pretreatment and analyses of the carbamazepine, ibuprofen, sulfadiazine, and tissue samples (Leca, P. australis body and P.australis leaf) were conducted using HPLC. Results The carbamazepine, ibuprofen, and sulfadiazine removal efficiencies for the planted and unplanted reactors were 89.23% and 95.94%, 89.50% and 94.73%, and 67.20% and 93.68%, respectively. The Leca bed permitted an efficient removal. Leca has a high sorption capacity for these pharmaceuticals, with removal efficiencies of 93.68-95.94% in the unplanted reactors. Conclusions Sorption processes might be of a major importance in achieving efficient treatment of wastewater, particularly in the removal of organic material that are resistant to biodegradation, in which case the materials composing the support matrix may play an important role. The results obtained in the present study indicate that a constructed wetland with Leca as a substrate and planted with P. australis is effective in the treatment of wastewater contaminated with carbamazepine, ibuprofen, and sulfadiazine.

Treatment of Antibiotics in Wastewater Using Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs)

Antibiotics are nonbiodegradable, can survive at aquatic environments for long periods and they have a big potential bio-accumulation in the environment. They are extensively metabolized by humans, animals and plants. After metabolization, antibiotics or their metabolites are excreted into the aquatic environment. Removal of these compounds from the aquatic environment is feasible by different processes. But antibiotics are not treated in conventional wastewater treatment plants efficiently. During the last years studies with advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for removal of these pharmaceuticals from waters has shown that they can be useful for removing them fully. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) can work as alternatives or complementary method in traditional wastewater treatment, and highly reactive free radicals, especially hydroxyl radicals (OH) generated via chemical (O3/H2O2, O3/OH ), photochemical (UV/O3, O3/H2O2) reactions, serve as the main oxidant. This study presents an overview of the literature on antibiotics and their removal from water by advanced oxidation processes. It includes almost all types of antibiotics which are consumed by human and veterinary processes. It was found that most of the investigated advanced oxidation treatment processes for the oxidation of antibiotics in water are direct and indirect photolysis with the combinations of H2O2, TiO2, ozone and Fenton’s reagent.