Behavior of UV filters, uv blockers and pharmaceuticals in high rate algal ponds treating urban wastewater

Abstract

The present study evaluated the efficiency of a high rate algal pond (HRAP) at pilot scale to remove pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from urban wastewater, including UV-filters and parabens (10), benzotriazoles (4), antibiotics (15), anti-inflammatories (3) and other pharmaceuticals (3). A total of 35 compounds were targeted, of which 21 were detected in the influent wastewater to the HRAP. Removals (RE%) for pharmaceuticals were variable, with efficient eliminations for atenolol (84%) and sulfathiazole (100%), whereas the anti-inflammatories naproxen and ketoprofen were only partially removed <50%. Benzotriazoles showed elimination rates similar to those of conventional WWTPs, with RE% ranging from no elimination to 51% for the UV filter benzophenone-3 (BP3) and 100% for 4-methylbenzilidenecamphor (4MBC). Hazard quotients (HQs) were estimated for those compounds not fully eliminated in the HRAP, as well as the cumulative ecotoxicity in the resulting effluent. The majority of the compounds yielded HQs < 0.1, meaning that no environmental risk would be derived from their discharge. Overall, these results clearly indicate that HRAPs are a reliable, green and cost-effective alternative to intensive wastewater treatment, yielding promising results removing these contaminants ; M.J. García-Galán and M. Garfí would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for their research grants (IJCI-2017-34601 and RYC-2016-20059, respectively). Lucas Vassalle would like to acknowledge the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development from Brazilian Ministry of Education—CNPQ (scholarship 204026/2018-0). Larissa T. Arashiro is grateful to the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 676070 (SuPER-W). This communication reflects only the author's view and the Research Executive Agency of the EU is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. The authors would like to thank Antonio Ortiz Ruiz for his help on the design of Figure 1. ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (published version)