Suwanna Kitpati Boontanon

Mass flows of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in central wastewater treatment plants of industrial zones in Thailand

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are fully fluorinated organic compounds, which have been used in many industrial processes and have been detected in wastewater and sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) around the world. This study focused on the occurrences of PFCs and PFCs mass flows in the industrial wastewater treatment plants, which reported to be the important sources of PFCs. Surveys were conducted in central wastewater treatment plant in two industrial zones in Thailand. Samples were collected from influent, aeration tank, secondary clarifier effluent, effluent and sludge. The major purpose of this field study was to identify PFCs occurrences and mass flow during industrial WWTP. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with HPLC-ESI-MS/MS were used for the analysis. Total 10 PFCs including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluoropropanoic acid (PFPA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluoronanoic acid (PFNA), perfluordecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA), and perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA) were measured to identify their occurrences. PFCs were detected in both liquid and solid phase in most samples. The exceptionally high level of PFCs was detected in the treatment plant of IZ1 and IZ2 ranging between 662-847ngL(-1) and 674-1383ngL(-1), respectively, which greater than PFCs found in most domestic wastewater. Due to PFCs non-biodegradable property, both WWTPs were found ineffective in removing PFCs using activated sludge processes. Bio-accumulation in sludge could be the major removal mechanism of PFCs in the process. The increasing amount of PFCs after activated sludge processes were identified which could be due to the degradation of PFCs precursors. PFCs concentration found in the effluent were very high comparing to those in river water of the area. Industrial activity could be the one of major sources of PFCs contamination in the water environment.

Occurrences and behavior of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in several wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Japan and Thailand

This study examines occurrences of 11 perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in several wastewater treatment plants in Japan and Thailand. Surveys are conducted in eight wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Japan and central WWTPs of five industrial estates (IEs) in Thailand. Samples are collected from all major treatment processes in order to understand the behavior of PFCs in WWTPs. PFCs are detected in all WWTPs in Japan and Thailand. Concentrations of PFCs even exceed several thousands ng/L in some WWTPs. PFOS, PFOA, and PFNA are mainly detected in WWTPs in Japan, while PFBuS, PFOA, and PFHxA are mainly detected in WWTP of IEs in Thailand. Even though some of the investigated WWTPs utilize biological treatment processes coupled with chlorination, ozonation, or activated carbon adsorption, they are found ineffective to remove PFCs. During the treatment process, PFCs are found to accumulate at exceptionally high concentration levels in the activated sludge of an aeration tank and returned activated sludge. Overall, the estimated total daily mass of discharged PFCs is 124.95 g/d (PFASs: 49.81 g/d; PFCAs: 75.14 g/d) from eight WWTPs in Japan and 55.04 g/d (PFASs: 12 g/d; PFCAs: 43.04 g/d) from five WWTPs in Thailand. Although the presented data are from a single observation in each WWTP, the results indicate that certain industries using PFCs in manufacturing processes could be the principle point source, while domestic activities could be releasing PFCs at detectable levels causing environmental concern.

Determination of perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid in food packaging using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

This research aimed to monitor the amounts of PFOS and PFOA in food packaging and study the migration of PFOS and PFOA from food packaging, using a saliva simulant and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) technique. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was employed to determine residues of PFOS and PFOA by using a gradient reversed-phase method with ammonium acetate/acetonitrile buffer. A good linearity was established for PFOS and PFOA in a range of 0.05-10 μgL(-1), with R2 ≥ 0.9998. Of the samples extracted by methanol, the highest concentration of PFOS was found in fast-food container samples, at a level of 92.48 ng dm(-2). For PFOA, the highest concentration in samples extracted by methanol was found in ice cream cup samples, at a level of 16.91 ng dm(-2). The amounts of PFOS and PFOA that migrated from food packaging samples through contact with saliva simulant were 4.80 and 4.55 ng dm(-2), respectively. Saliva simulant could leach PFOS and PFOA from the group of the thickest paper samples (≤1 dm2 g(-1)) at levels of 7.01 and 6.41 ng dm(-2), respectively, indicating that paper with greater thickness and less area might release larger quantities of coated/added PFOS or PFOA.

Monitoring and determination of sulfonamide antibiotics (sulfamethoxydiazine, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole and sulfadiazine) in imported Pangasius catfish products in Thailand using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

This research aimed to monitor the concentrations of sulfamethoxydiazine (SMD), sulfamethazine (SMT), sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and sulfadiazine (SDZ) in imported Pangasius catfish products in Thailand. The residues of the four sulfonamides (SAs) were analyzed by extraction process and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The highest concentrations found were 10.97ng/g for SMD, 6.23ng/g for SMT, 11.13ng/g for SDZ and 245.91ng/g for SMX, which was higher than the European Union (EU) standard (100ng/g). Moreover, all samples contaminated with SMX also contained SMT, indicating that more than one antibiotic was used for production in the country of origin. Because Thai standards for antibiotics in food have not been completely set, all contaminated discovered would not be considered to be an illegal food, in which antibiotic residues may affect human health in the long term. Therefore, antibiotic residues in Pangasius catfish products should be continually regulated and monitored.

Contamination of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in Chao Phraya River and Bangpakong River, Thailand

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) have been used for many years, and are distributed all over the world. This study focused on occurrences of PFCs, especially perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctonoic acid (PFOA) in Thai rivers and industrial estate discharges, while comparing results with rivers of other Asian countries (Japan, China, and Malaysia). Surveys were conducted in Chao Phraya River, Bangpakong River and three industrial estates. A solid phase extraction (SPE) and HPLC-ESI-MS/MS were used for the analysis of these chemicals. The average concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were 1.9 and 4.7 ng/L, respectively in Chao Phraya River, while lower concentrations were detected in Bangpakong River with the averages of 0.7 ng/L for both PFOS and PFOA. Higher concentrations were detected in all industrial estate discharges with the averages of 64.3 ng/L for PFOA and 17.9 ng/L for PFOS., Total loadings from three industrial estates were 1.93 g/d for PFOS and 11.81 g/d for PFOA. The concentration levels in Thai rivers were less than rivers in Japan, China, and Malaysia. However, PFCs loading rate of Chao Phraya River was much higher than Yodo River (Japan), due to the higher flow rate. The other six PFCs were found above the Limit of Quantification (LOQ) in most samples. PFHxS and PFNA were also highly detected in some river samples.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination from textiles.

ABSTRACT The goals of this study were to determine the concentrations of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in textiles and to determine PFOS and PFOA contamination in textile washing water. Quantification analysis was performed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Analysis of 32 textile samples by methanol extraction revealed that the average concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were 0.18 µg m−2 (0.02 to 0.61 µg m−2) and 2.74 µg m−2 (0.31 to 14.14 µg m−2), respectively. Although the average concentration of PFOS found in textile samples was below European Union (EU) Commission regulations (<1 µg m−2), the average concentration of PFOA was 2.74 µg m−2, and 68.75% of textile samples had PFOA concentrations exceeding 1 µg m−2. Thus, based on these results, the concentration of PFOA in products should also be regulated. Experiments on PFOS and PFOA leaching into washing water were conducted. The maximum concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were measured after the first washing; the concentrations gradually decreased with each subsequent washing. PFOS and PFOA migrated from textiles and were released into the environment, with disappearance percentages of 29.8% for PFOS and 99% for PFOA. The data presented in this study showed that textiles could be a significant direct and indirect source of PFOS and PFOA exposure for both humans and the environment.

Occurrence of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate in the Water Environment of Bangkok, Thailand

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic substances that have characteristics of persistence in the environment; transboun- dary movement, or the ability to travel long distances through air and water; toxicity; and bioaccumulation in living things. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a toxic chemical that never breaks down, was added to the Stockholm Convention on POPs and was listed in the Annex B restrictions with many exemptions to continue using PFOS. This study focused on the occurrence of PFOS in the water system of Bangkok, Thailand,includingtheChaoPhraya andBangPakongRivers,tapwater in industrial zonesandresidential areas, drinkingwater,andindustrial wastewater.Seasonaleffect of PFOSbetweendryseason and wet season was also observedformore than 3years. Solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled with HPLC-ESI-MS/MS was used for the analysis of these compounds. PFOS was detected in most water samples. The average concentration of PFOS in the Chao Phraya River (urban area) was1.70 ng=L, whereas lower concentrations were detected in the Bang Pakong River (suburban area), residential tap water, and bottled drinking water, with averages of 0.7, 0.4, and 0.5 ng=L, respectively. Higher con- centrations(anaverageof25.1 ng=L)werefoundinindustrialtapwater,whosesourceswerefromsurfacewaterneartheindustrialzones.Much higherconcentrationsweredetectedinindustrialwastewater,withthemaximumof6;100.8 ng=L.Theseresultsindicatedthatindustrialwaste- water was one of the major sources of PFOS contamination in thewater system of the city of Bangkok. This study provided data on the spatial occurrence, its seasonal effect, and distribution of PFOS in the water environment of Bangkok and surrounding areas, which need continuous attention to this emerging contaminant. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000603.

Evaluation of removal efficiency of human antibiotics in wastewater treatment plants in Bangkok, Thailand.

This study aimed to investigate the antibiotic concentration at each stage of treatment and to evaluate the removal efficiency of antibiotics in different types of secondary and advanced treatment, as well as the effects of the location of their discharge points on the occurrence of antibiotics in surface water. Eight target antibiotics and four hospital wastewater treatment plants in Bangkok with different conventional and advanced treatment options were investigated. Antibiotics were extracted by solid phase extraction and analysed by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The antibiotic with the highest concentration at influent was cefazolin at 13,166 ng/L, while the antibiotic with the highest concentration at effluent was sulfamethoxazole at 1,499 ng/L. The removal efficiency of antibiotics from lowest to highest was sulfamethoxazole, piperacillin, clarithromycin, metronidazole, dicloxacillin, ciprofloxacin, cefazolin, and cefalexin. The adopted conventional treatment systems could not completely remove all antibiotics from wastewater. However, using advanced treatments or disinfection units such as chlorination and UV could increase the antibiotic removal efficiency. Chlorination was more effective than UV, ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole concentration fluctuated during the treatment process, and sulfamethoxazole was the most difficult to remove. Both these antibiotics should be studied further regarding their contamination in sludge and suitable treatment options for their removal.

Extraction procedure optimization for perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid in food packaging determination by LC-MS/MS

This research aimed to optimize the extraction method parameters for sample pretreatment and determine the levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination in food packaging made of paper. Techniques used were pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) followed by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Influence parameters of PLE were carefully evaluated for extracted concentration of samples in low level (ng g−1). The study found that the optimal conditions for PLE were 30 min static extraction time with a flush volume of 100% cell volume and one extraction cycle at 80°C and 1,000 psi. The extraction technique validated the absolute recovery from PFOS and PFOA fortified control samples at three different levels (5, 50, and 200 ng g−1), with seven repeats at each fortification level. The average recoveries were 79% or higher, with relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 11%. Optimization of the PLE method was established based on recovery data, accuracy, precision, and repeatability of the method. Using optimal PLE technique, PFOS and PFOA were extracted from 34 food-packaging samples collected in Thailand. PFOS and PFOA were detected in all kinds of collected samples, with average concentrations of 4.89 and 2.87 ng g−1, respectively. The concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were highest in fast-food container samples: 36.99 and 9.99 ng g−1, respectively.

Grid size effects on a distributed water quantity-quality model in a hilly watershed

Effects of different grid sizes (50 m, 100 m, 150 m, ... , 500 m) were analyzed for both watershed attributes and estimation by a distributed model for flow rate and water quality. Model was evaluated in terms of estimation differences and on the values of some parameters at different grid sizes. Grid resizing showed significant changes in the physical attributes related with topography, but attributes such as land cover and geology were not much affected. Model showed increasing flow rates estimation with increasing grid size when the same parameter values were used. Such increasing pattern was observed for root mean square error, magnitude of peak runoff points, and time for the peak recession. Observed differences did not show such variation patterns in case of water quality estimation at different grid sizes. The observed differences in the estimated value by the model could have been derived mainly from less number of grids required to travel, increased proportion of channel grids and smaller outlet height at coarser grid sizes. These estimated differences could be adjusted by changing values of some of the model parameters for each grid size within a narrow range.