Removal of organics and degradation products from industrial wastewater by a membrane bioreactor integrated with ozone or UV/H₂O₂ treatment

Redox-directed identification of toxic transformation products during ozonation of aromatics

The toxicity assessment of transformation products (TPs) formed in oxidative water treatment is crucial but challenging because of their low concentration, structural diversity, and mixture complexity. Here, this study developed a novel redox-directed approach for identification of toxic TPs without the individual toxicity and concentration information. This approach based on sodium borohydride reduction comprised an integrated process of toxicological evaluation, fluorescence excitation-emission matrix characterization, high-resolution mass spectrometry detection, followed by ecological toxicity assessment of identified TPs. The redox-directed identification of primary causative toxicants was experimentally tested for the increased nonspecific toxicity observations in the ozonated effluents of model aromatics. Reduction reaction caused a remarkable decrease in toxicity and increase in fluorescence intensity, obtaining a good linear relation between them. More than ten monomeric or dimeric p-benzoquinone (p-BQ) TPs were identified in the ozonated effluents. The occurrence of the p-BQ TPs was further verified through parallel sodium sulfite reduction and actual wastewater ozonation experiments. In vitro bioassays of luminescent bacteria, as well as in silico genotoxicity and cytotoxicity predictions, indicate that the toxicity of p-BQ TPs is significantly higher than that of their precursors and other TPs. These together demonstrated that the identified p-BQ TPs are primary toxicity contributors. The redox-directed approach facilitated the revelation of primary toxicity contribution, illustrating emerging p-BQs are a concern for aquatic ecosystem safety in the oxidative treatment of aromatics-contaminated wastewater.

Enhanced H2O2 Upcycling into Hydroxyl Radicals with GO/Ni:FeOOH-Coated Silicon Nanowire Photocatalysts for Wastewater Treatment

There remains continued interest in improving the advanced water oxidation process [e.g., ultraviolet (UV)/hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)] for more efficient and environmentally friendly wastewater treatment. Here, we report the design, fabrication, and performance of graphene oxide (GO, on top)/nickel-doped iron oxyhydroxide (Ni:FeOOH, shell)/silicon nanowires (SiNWs, core) as a new multifunctional photocatalyst for the degradation of common pollutants like polystyrene and methylene blue through enhancing the hydroxyl radical (•OH) production rate of the UV/H₂O₂ system. The photocatalyst combines the advantages of a large surface area and light absorption characteristics of SiNWs with heterogeneous photo-Fenton active Ni:FeOOH and photocatalytically active/charge separator GO. In addition, the built-in electric field of GO/Ni:FeOOH/SiNWs facilitates the charge separation of electrons to GO and holes to Ni:FeOOH, thus boosting the photocatalytic performance. Our photocatalyst increases the •OH yield by 5.7 times compared with that of a blank H₂O₂ solution sample and also extends the light absorption spectrum to include visible light irradiation.

A critical review on retaining antibiotics in liquid digestate: Potential risk and removal technologies

Substantial levels of antibiotics remain in liquid digestate, posing a significant threat to human safety and the environment. A comprehensive assessment of residual antibiotics in liquid digestate and related removal technologies is required. To this end, this review first evaluates the potential risks of the residual antibiotics in liquid digestate by describing various anaerobic digestion processes and their half-lives in the environment. Next, emerging technologies for removing antibiotics in liquid digestate are summarized and discussed, including membrane separation, adsorption, and advanced oxidation processes. Finally, this study comprehensively and critically discusses these emerging technologies' prospects and challenges, including techno-economic feasibility and environmental impacts.

Towards practical integration of MBR with electrochemical AOP: Improved biodegradability of real pharmaceutical wastewater and fouling mitigation

In the current study, we report enhanced treatment of real pharmaceutical wastewater by integration of Electrooxidation (EO) with Membrane Bio-Reactor (MBR) for the first time. Integrated pre-pilot EO-MBR plant consisted of a 3D printed electrochemical flowcell equipped with graphite electrodes installed in the effluent recirculation line of an MBR equipped with a hollow fiber membrane module. Results demonstrated that 5 V was the optimum voltage level for an isolated EO system. Isolated EO system led to 40% COD removal and 2.5 fold biodegradability index (BOD₅/COD) improvement after 24 hr treatment at the optimum voltage of 5 V and 160 mL.min^-1 flowrate. Almost complete removal of COD and BOD₅ was observed for the EO-MBR system with 160 mL.min^-1 recirculation rate and 24 hr HRT, while respective values were 60 and 87% for the MBR system at same operational conditions. Oxidation of pharmaceutical compounds identified in real wastewater and the fate of main oxidation-recalcitrant by-products were confirmed using liquid chromatography techniques. In addition, the integrated EO-MBR system led to significant membrane fouling mitigation with a 28 day extended operational time before reaching the Trans Membrane Pressure (TMP) limit value of 30 kPa. Measurements revealed reduced Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) Concentration of membrane sludge cake layer of EO-MBR along with significant reduction of proteinaceous compounds in the LB-EPS fraction of cake layer in comparison with isolated MBR system. Fouling behavior improvement of the EO-MBR system was attributed to the electrophilic attack of electrochemically generated hydroxyl radicals to the electron-rich moieties of EPS organic foulants. Reduced proteinaceous/humic-like substances of LB-EPS from the cake layer were further confirmed by Emission Excitation matrix (EEM) and Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopic methods. The results of current research provide a helpful basis for future studies by elucidating the complex operating/fouling mechanism of integrated Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) with MBR systems for enhanced treatment of organics polluted wastewaters with low biodegradability.

Ozone Decomposition below Room Temperature Using Mn-based Mullite YMn2O5

A super-low-temperature ozone decomposition is realized without energy consumption on a ternary oxide catalyst mullite YMn₂O₅ for the first time. The YMn₂O₅ oxide catalyzed ozone decomposition from a low temperature of -40 °C with 29% conversion (reaction rate: 1534.2 μmol g^-1 h^-1) and quickly reached 100% (5459.5 μmol g^-1 h^-1) when warmed up to -5 °C. The superior low-temperature performance over YMn₂O₅ could surpass that of the reported ozone decomposition catalysts. The structure and element valence characterizations confirmed that YMn₂O₅ remained the same after 100 h of room-temperature reaction, indicating excellent durability of the catalyst. O₂-TPD (O₂-temperature-programmed desorption) showed that the active sites are the Mn³⁺ sites bonded with singly coordinated oxygen on the surface. Combined with in situ Raman measurements and density functional theory calculations, we found that the ozone decomposition reaction on YMn₂O₅ showed a barrier of only 0.29 eV, following the Eley-Rideal (E-R) mechanism with a rate-limiting step of intermediate O₂^2- desorption. The low barrier minimizes the accumulation of intermediate products and realizes the fast O₃ decomposition even at super-low temperatures. Fundamentally, the moderate Mn-O bonding strength in the low-symmetry ternary oxides is crucial to produce singly coordinated active species on the surface responsible for the efficient ozone degradation at low temperatures.

Overlooked environmental risks deriving from aqueous transformation of bisphenol alternatives: Integration of chemical and toxicological insights

Owing to the widespread prevalence and ecotoxicity of bisphenol alternatives such as bisphenol S, bisphenol F, and bisphenol AF, the past decade has witnessed the publication of a remarkable number of studies related to their transformation and remediation in natural waters. However, the reactivity, removal efficiency, transformation products (TPs), and mechanisms of such emerging pollutants by different treatment processes have not been well elucidated. Particularly, the transformation-driven environmental risks have been mostly overlooked. Therefore, we present a review to address these issues from chemical and toxicological viewpoints. Four degradation systems can be largely classified as catalytic persulfate (PS) oxidation, non-catalytic oxidation, photolysis and photocatalysis, and biodegradation. It was found that bisphenol alternatives possess distinct reactivities with different oxidizing species, with the highest performance for hydroxyl radicals. All systems exhibit superior elimination efficiency for these compounds. The inadequate mineralization suggests the formation of recalcitrant TPs, from which the overall reaction pathways are proposed. The combined experimental and in silico analysis indicates that many TPs have developmental toxicity, endocrine-disrupting effects, and genotoxicity. Notably, catalytic PS systems and non-catalytic oxidation result in the formation of coupling products as well as halogenated TPs with higher acute and chronic toxicity and lower biodegradability than the parent compounds. In contrast, photolysis and photocatalysis generate hydroxylated and bond-cleavage TPs with less toxicity. Overall, this review highlights the secondary environmental risks from the transformation of bisphenol alternatives by conventional and emerging treatment processes. Finally, future perspectives are recommended to address the knowledge gaps of these contaminants in aquatic ecosystems.

Treatment of organic wastewater by a synergic electrocatalysis process with Ti3+ self-doped TiO2 nanotube arrays electrode as both cathode and anode

Electrochemical anodic oxidation (AO) is a promising technology for wastewater treatment due to its strong oxidation property and environmental compatibility. However, it suffers from high energy consumption for pollutants removal due to the side-reactions of hydrogen evolution reaction on cathode and oxygen evolution reaction on anode. Combining electro-Fenton (EF) with AO not only generated •OH for pollutants degradation but also increased current efficiency. This work investigated a synergic electrocatalysis process between EF and AO with Ti³⁺ self-doped TiO₂ nanotube arrays (Ti³⁺/TNTAs) electrode as both cathode and anode for wastewater treatment. The pseudo-first-order kinetic rate constant of phenol degradation by EF+AO (0.107 min^-1) was 9.7 or 6.3 times as much as that of only EF (0.011 min^-1) or AO (0.017 min^-1) process, respectively. Enhanced pollutants removal of EF+AO could be attributed to the coexistence of •OH oxidation and direct oxidation on Ti³⁺/TNTAs surface. The COD of secondary effluent of coking wastewater decreased from 159.3 mg L^-1 to 47.0 mg L^-1 by EF+AO within 120 min with low specific energy consumption (9.5 kWh kg^-1 COD^-1). This work provided a new insight into design of the energy-efficient synergic electrocatalysis process for refractory pollutants degradation.

Metals (Al, Fe, Zn) doped in single walled carbon nanotubes for catalytic oxidation of H2O to H2O2: a theoretical investigation

A theoretical study on the reaction mechanism of oxygen reduction of metal (Al, Zn, Fe) supported carbon nanotubes to hydrogen peroxide.

Boosting the Dispersity of Metallic Ag Nanoparticles and Ozone Decomposition Performance of Ag-Mn Catalysts via Manganese Vacancy-Dependent Metal-Support Interactions

Ozone (O₃) removal has important implications for environmental protection and human health, and Ag-Mn catalysts have shown promising O₃ decomposition. Catalysts with Ag supported on porous cube-like α-Mn₂O₃ (Ag/Mn-C) with high utilization of Ag were prepared by the impregnation method and showed excellent O₃ decomposition activity. Physicochemical characterizations demonstrated that metallic Ag nanoparticles (Ag_n⁰) were mainly anchored on manganese vacancies, forming Ag-O-Mn bonds between Ag_n⁰ and α-Mn₂O₃-C. The abundant manganese vacancies of α-Mn₂O₃-C can lead to Ag_n⁰ with a smaller particle size and more uniform dispersion, thereby resulting in markedly enhanced O₃ decomposition performance compared to Ag_n⁰ with a large particle size and uneven distribution on rod-like α-Mn₂O₃ (Ag/Mn-R). Under a relative humidity of 65% and a space velocity of 1,110,000 h^-1, the conversion of 40 ppm O₃ over the 2%Ag/Mn-C catalyst within 6 h (98%) at 30 °C was more than twice as high as that of the 2%Ag/Mn-R catalyst (42%). The study provides guidance for the design of highly efficient Ag-based catalysts and the understanding of the microstructure of supported catalysts.

Treatment-driven removal efficiency, product formation, and toxicity evolution of antineoplastic agents: Current status and implications for water safety assessment

Antineoplastic compounds, designed for chemotherapeutic anticancer therapy, have become emerging contaminants of global concern over the past decade due to their ubiquitous occurrence, environmental persistence, and multiple adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems. Increasing efforts have been devoted to developing efficient strategies for remediating water containing these micropollutants. In this study, the physicochemical properties, natural attenuation, and chemical reactivity with aqueous oxidizing species of five antineoplastic drugs with the highest environmental prevalence (i.e., tamoxifen, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, 5-fluorouracil, and methotrexate) were summarized. The removal performance, transformation products (TPs) of varying structures, overall reaction pathways, and toxicity evolution during different treatments were evaluated and discussed. Additionally, the biodegradability and multi-endpoint toxicity of each TP were predicted using in silico QSAR software. Depending on their distinct inherent structures, the reactivity of the antineoplastics with oxidizing species varied, with hydroxyl radicals exhibiting unparalleled merits in rapid oxidation. Complete elimination of these contaminants was observed during oxidative treatments, but with inadequate mineralization. Notably, the increase in toxicity within multiple processes was determined based on both experimental bioassays and theoretical predictions. This may be attributed to the adverse effects induced by the large number of identified and unknown TPs individually and in combination. Together with the environmental persistence and low biodegradability of most TPs, these results necessitate the application of efficient post-treatments in conjunction with a more thorough water safety evaluation (e.g., using high-throughput screening) of the mixtures of treated water and wastewater.

A bibliometric analysis of industrial wastewater treatments from 1998 to 2019

For the foreseeable future, industrial water demand will grow much faster than agriculture. The demand together with the urgency of wastewater treatment, will pose big challenges for most developing countries. We applied the bibliometric analysis combined with social network analysis and S-curve technique to quantitatively analyze 9413 publications related to industrial wastewater treatment in the Scientific Citation Index (SCI) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) databases from 1998 to 2019. The results showed that: (1) Publications on industrial wastewater treatment have increased from 120 in 1998 to 895 in 2019 with a steady annual increment rate, and researchers have focused more on the application and optimization of existing technologies. (2) China had the highest number of publications (n = 1651, 19.66% of global output) and was a core country in the international cooperation network, whereas the United States and European countries produced higher quality papers. (3) By analyzing the co-occurrence and clusters of keywords and comparing three wastewater treatment categories (physical, chemical, biological), adsorption (n = 1277), oxidation (n = 1085) and activated sludge process (n = 1288) were the top three techniques. Researchers have shifted their focus to treatment technologies for specific wastewater type, such as textile wastewater, pulp and paper wastewater, and pharmaceutical wastewater. The S-curve from articles indicates that physical and chemical treatment technologies are attached with great potential in the near future, especially adsorption and advanced oxidation, while the biological treatment technologies are approaching to the saturation stage. Different pattern is observed for the S-curve derived from patents, which stressed the limited achievement until now and further exploration in the field application for the three treatment categories. Our analysis provides information of technology development landscape and future opportunities, which is useful for decision makers and researchers who are interested in this area.

Ozonation using hollow fiber contactor technology and its perspectives for micropollutants removal in water: A review

Membrane contactor is a device generally used for the removal or the absorption of a gas into another fluid. The membrane acts as a barrier between the two phases and mass transfer occurs by diffusion and not by dispersion. This article is a review of the application of membrane contactor technology for ozonation applied to water treatment. The challenge of removing micropollutants is also discussed. In the first part, the ozonation process is mentioned, in particular chemical reactions induced by ozone and its advantages and disadvantages. In the second part, generalities on membrane contactor technology using hollow fibers are presented. Then, the benefit of using a membrane contactor for the elimination of micropollutants is shown through a critical analysis of the influence of several parameters on the ozonation efficiency. The impact of the membrane material is also highlighted. Finally, several modeling approaches are presented as a tool for a better understanding of the phenomena occurring in the contactor and a possible optimization of this process.

A trade-off between adsorption and photocatalysis over ZIF-derived composite

The adsorption with highly porous adsorbents is an efficient technique to trap the uncontrolled release of antibiotics in the environment, however, mere adsorption does not mineralize the discharged antibiotics. On the contrary, the regular photocatalysts completely mineralize the antibiotics, however suffers from high efficiency due to comparatively low surface area and porosity. In this work, a balance has been made between efficient adsorption followed by complete degradation of the adsorbed antibiotic over ZIF-8 derived ZnO/N-doped carbon composite. The nitrogen-doped carbon produced at 1000 °C showed a very high adsorption capacity of SMX, due to higher surface area, porosity and better surface interaction between adsorbate and adsorbent. The ZnO formed at 600 °C produced sufficient OH· that were responsible to show a very high rate of complete photocatalytic mineralization of SMX over the material. The ZnO/N-doped carbon composite showed a very high rate of photodegradation with a corresponding rate constant of 4.36 × 10^-2 min^-1. The complete degradation mechanism was proposed and rates were compared with existing literature.

Opposite pH-dependent roles of hydroxyl radicals in ozonation and UV photolysis of genistein

Phytoestrogens were frequently detected in municipal or industrial wastewater, and raised great attentions due to potential risks to humans or organisms. Until now, transformation mechanisms of phytoestrogens in advanced wastewater treatments were largely unknown. Here, pH influence mechanisms on transformations of phytoestrogens during two typical advanced wastewater treatments (ozonation and photolysis) were investigated, employing genistein (Gs) as a case. Removal efficiencies of Gs decreased significantly with increases of pH during ozonation, while photolytic rates increased by 44 or 200 times from pH 4.9 to 11.6 under irradiations without or with UVC. pH increases caused both dissociation of Gs and formation of hydroxyl radicals (OH) in ozonation or photolysis, however, led to opposite changes to degradation rates. This was because that OH played negatively as a competitor for O₃ in ozonation, but acted as an accelerating species inducing self-sensitized photooxidation of Gs under UV light. Ozonation and photolytic products of Gs were similar at pH 4.9 or 8.6, but were totally different at pH 11.6. Most of the transformation products maintained isoflavone structures, and might possess phytoestrogenic effects. This study provided a deep insight into the pH influencing mechanism on typical advanced wastewater treatment processes of phytoestrogens. MAIN FINDING OF THE WORK: Opposite pH-dependent degradation mechanisms caused by hydroxyl radicals (OH) were elucidated for ozonation and UV photolysis of phytoestrogens, taking genistein as a case.

Effects of residual ozone on the performance of microorganisms treating petrochemical wastewater

This study investigated the effects of residual ozone on the performance of microorganisms treating petrochemical wastewater using batch experiments with low and high ozone dosages (5.0 mg/L and 50.0 mg/L, respectively). The results indicated that the low residual ozone concentration significantly increased COD removal by 24.21% in the biological process compared to control group with no ozone residual, while the high residual ozone concentration showed the opposite effect. In the reactor with low residual ozone concentration (0.45 mg/L), the amount of loosely bound (LB)-extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in the activated sludge decreased by 23.23%, while the amount of tightly bound (TB)-EPS increased by 129.16% compared to the none-ozone residual reactor. In addition, the low residual ozone was found to improve the bioactivity of activated sludge by 139.73% in the first 30 min of the biological process. In the reactor with high residual ozone concentration (0.91 mg/L), both LB- and TB-EPS of the activated sludge increased, while bioactivity decreased. This implies that low residual ozone in a bio-reactor can enhance microbial activity by increasing contact between the pollutants and cells by removing LB-EPS covering the outer layer of the sludge. The microorganisms in the sludge samples could be classified into three groups representing those that are susceptible to ozone, tolerant to low dose of residual ozone, and resistant to high dose of residual ozone. The resistant bacteria Gemmatimonadaceae uncultured became predominant, with a relative abundance of 11.37%, under low residual ozone conditions, while it decreased at high ozone concentrations. The results showed that a certain amount of residual ozone could stimulate the activity of microorganisms by altering the EPS fraction and structure of the microbial community, and thus it is important for the removal of refractory organics from wastewater in the ozone-biological process.

Influence of nalidixic acid on tandem heterotrophic-autotrophic kinetics in a "NIPHO" activated sludge reactor

This work analyzes the effect of nalidixic acid (NAL) on the kinetics of the heterotrophic and autotrophic biomass growth within a "NIPHO" activated sludge reactor treating municipal wastewater. Thus, the effect of this chemical in the degradation rates of carbon and nitrogen sources and net biomass growth rate is evaluated. Activated sludge samples were taken at three different operation conditions, changing the values of hydraulic retention time (2.8-3.8 h), biomass concentration (1400-1700 mgVSS L^-1), temperature (12.6-14.8 °C), and sludge retention time (11.0-12.6 day). A respirometric method was applied to model the kinetic performance of heterotrophic and autotrophic biomass in absence and presence of NAL, and a multivariable statistical analysis was carried out to characterize the influence of the operation variables on the kinetic response of the system, which was finally optimized. The results showed that there was no inhibitory effect of NAL on heterotrophic biomass, with an increase of net heterotrophic biomass growth rate from 1.70 to 6.73 mgVSS L^-1 h^-1 at the most favorable period. By contrast, the autotrophic biomass was negatively affected by NAL, reducing the value of net autotrophic biomass growth rate from 25.37 to 10.29 mgVSS L^-1 h^-1 at the best operation conditions. In general, biomass concentration and temperature had the highest influence on the degradation rate of carbon and nitrogen sources, whereas hydraulic retention time and sludge retention time were the most influential on net heterotrophic and autotrophic biomass growth rates.

Prevention of UF membrane fouling in drinking water treatment by addition of H2O2 during membrane backwashing

Although conventional coagulation pre-treatment can mitigate the fouling of ultrafiltration (UF) membrane when treating raw waters, it is insufficient to restrict the development of irreversible fouling and reversible fouling to a low level. In this paper we demonstrate that the intermittent addition of H₂O₂ into the membrane tank during backwash events (after coagulation pre-treatment) successfully prevented the development of any significant membrane fouling. Laboratory-scale tests were undertaken using two membrane systems operated in parallel over 60 days, one serving as a reference coagulation-ultrafiltration (CUF) process, and the other receiving the H₂O₂ (CUF-H₂O₂), with a decreasing dose in three successive phases: 10, 5 and 2 mg/L. The results showed that the addition of H₂O₂ (via a separate dosing tube) during a 1 min backwash process (at 30 min intervals) reduced the growth of bacteria in the membrane tank, and the associated concentrations of soluble microbial products (SMP, including protein and polysaccharide). This resulted in a much reduced cake layer, which contained significantly less high MW organic matter (>50%), such as EPS, thereby improving the interaction between particles in the cake layer and/or particles and the membrane surface. There was also less organic matter, of all MW fractions, adsorbed in the membrane pores of the CUF-H₂O₂ system. The addition of H₂O₂ in the membrane tank appeared to alter the nature of the organic matter with a conversion of hydrophobic to hydrophilic fractions, which induced less organics adsorption within the hydrophobic PVDF membrane pores, and a reduced bonding ability for particles. There was no physico-chemical evidence of any deterioration of the membrane from exposure to H₂O₂, which indicates the feasibility of applying this novel method of fouling control for full-scale UF based water treatment processes.

A Single Tube Contactor for Testing Membrane Ozonation

A membrane ozonation contactor was built to investigate ozonation using tubular membranes and inform computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies. Non-porous tubular polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes of 1.0–3.2 mm inner diameter were tested at ozone gas concentrations of 110–200 g/m3 and liquid side velocities of 0.002–0.226 m/s. The dissolved ozone concentration could be adjusted to up to 14 mg O3/L and increased with decreasing membrane diameter and liquid side velocity. Experimental mass transfer coefficients and molar fluxes of ozone were 2.4 × 10−6 m/s and 1.1 × 10−5 mol/(m2 s), respectively, for the smallest membrane. CFD modelling could predict the final ozone concentrations but slightly overestimated mass transfer coefficients and molar fluxes of ozone. Model contaminant degradation experiments and UV light absorption measurements of ozonated water samples in both ozone (O3) and peroxone (H2O2/O3) reaction systems in pure water, river water, wastewater effluent, and solutions containing humic acid show that the contactor system can be used to generate information on the reactivity of ozone with different water matrices. Combining simple membrane contactors with CFD allows for prediction of ozonation performance under a variety of conditions, leading to improved bubble-less ozone systems for water treatment.

Life cycle environmental impacts of advanced wastewater treatment techniques for removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are of increasing interest because of their ecotoxicological properties and environmental impacts. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are the main pathway for their release into freshwaters due to the inefficiency of conventional WWTPs in removing many of these contaminants from effluents. Therefore, different advanced effluent treatment techniques have been proposed for their treatment. However, it is not known at present how effective these treatment methods are and whether on a life cycle basis they cause other environmental impacts which may outweigh the benefits of the treatment. In an effort to provide an insight into this question, this paper considers life cycle environmental impacts of the following advanced treatment techniques aimed at reducing freshwater ecotoxicity potential of PPCPs: granular activated carbon (GAC), nanofiltration (NF), solar photo-Fenton (SPF) and ozonation. The results suggest that on average NF has the lowest impacts for 13 out of 18 categories considered. GAC is the best alternative for five impacts, including metals and water depletion, but it has the highest marine eutrophication. SPF and ozonation are the least sustainable for eight impacts, including ecotoxicity and climate change. GAC and NF are also more efficient in treating heavy metals while avoiding generation of harmful by-products during the treatment, thus being more suitable for potable reuse of wastewater. However, releasing the effluent without advanced treatment to agricultural land achieves a much higher reduction of freshwater ecotoxicity than treating it by any of the advanced treatments and releasing to the environment. Therefore, the use of advanced effluent treatment for agricultural purposes is not recommended.

Fenton treatment of bio-treated fermentation-based pharmaceutical wastewater: removal and conversion of organic pollutants as well as estimation of operational costs

The Fenton process is used as a tertiary treatment to remove organic pollutants from the effluent of bio-treated pharmaceutical wastewater (EBPW). The optimal and most appropriate Fenton conditions were determined by an orthogonal array test and single-factor experiments. The removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was influenced by the following factors in a descending order: H₂O₂/Fe(II) molar ratio > H₂O₂ dosage > reaction time. Under the most appropriate Fenton conditions (H₂O₂/Fe(II) molar ratio of 1:1, H₂O₂ dosage of 120 mg L^-1 and reaction time of 10 min), the COD and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were removed with efficiencies of 62 and 53%, respectively, which met the national discharge standard (GB 21903-2008) for the Lake Tai Basin, China. However, the Fenton treatment was inadequate for removal of N compounds, and the removal of organic nitrogen led to an increment in N-NH₃ from 3.28 to 19.71 mg L^-1. Proteins and polysaccharides were completely removed, and humic acids (HAs) were partly removed with an efficiency of 55%. Three-dimensional excitation/emission matrix spectra (3DEEMs) indicated complete removal of fulvic acid-like substances and 90% reduction in the florescence intensity of humic acid-like substances. Organic pollutants with molecular weights (MW) > 10 kDa were completely removed, MW 5-10 kDa were degraded into smaller MW ones, and some low molecular weight acids (MW 0.1-1 kDa) were mineralized during the Fenton process. Some species, including pharmaceutical intermediates and solvents were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The operational costs of the Fenton's treatment were estimated to be 0.58 yuan RMB/m³ EBPW based on reagent usage and iron sludge treatment and disposal.

Improvement of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) elimination and inhibition of formations of hydroxylamine-SMX and N4-acetyl-SMX by membrane bioreactor systems

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) has frequently been detected in aquatic environments. In natural environment, not only individual microorganism but also microbial consortia are involved in some biotransformation of pollutants. The competition for space under consortia causing cell-cell contact inhibition changes the cellular behaviors. Herein, the membrane bioreactor system (MBRS) was applied to improve SMX elimination thorough exchanging the cell-free broths (CFB). The removal efficiency of SMX was increased by more than 24% whether under the pure culture of A. faecalis or under the co-culture of A. faecalis and P. denitrificans with MBRS. Meanwhile, MBRS significantly inhibited the formation of HA-SMX, and Ac-SMX from parent compound. Additionally, the cellular growth under MBRS was obviously enhanced, indicating that the increases in the cellular growth under MBRS are possibly related to the decreases in the levels of HA-SMX and Ac-SMX compared to that without MBRS. The intracellular NADH/NAD⁺ ratios of A. faecalis under MBRS were increased whether thorough itself-recycle of CFB or exchanging CFB between the pure cultures of A. faecalis and P. denitrificans, suggesting that the enhancement in the bioremoval efficiencies of SMX under MBRS by A. faecalis is likely related to the increases in the NADH/NAD⁺ ratio. Taken together, the regulation of cell-to-cell communication is preferable strategy to improve the bioremoval efficiency of SMX.

The removal of COD and NH3-N from atrazine production wastewater treatment using UV/O3: experimental investigation and kinetic modeling

In this study, a UV/O₃ hybrid advanced oxidation system was used to remove chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N), and atrazine (ATZ) from ATZ production wastewater. The removal of COD and NH₃-N, under different UV and O₃ conditions, was found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics with rate constants ranging from 0.0001-0.0048 and 0.0015-0.0056 min^-1, respectively. The removal efficiency of ATZ was over 95% after 180 min treatment, regardless the level of UV power. A kinetic model was further proposed to simulate the removal processes and to quantify the individual roles and contributions of photolysis, direct O₃ oxidation, and hydroxyl radical (OH·) induced oxidation. The experimental and kinetic modeling results agreed reasonably well with deviations of 12.2 and 13.1% for the removal of COD and NH₃-N, respectively. Photolysis contributed appreciably to the degradation of ATZ, while OH· played a dominant role for the removal of both COD and NH₃-N, especially in alkaline environments. This study provides insights into the treatment of ATZ containing wastewater using UV/O₃ and broadens the knowledge of kinetics of ozone-based advanced oxidation processes.

Organic compounds stimulate horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes in mixed wastewater treatment systems

Domestic wastewater treatment plants as a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have received much attention, but the effect of dyes on the propagation of ARGs has rarely been investigated. In this study, we investigated the differences in distributions of ARGs and microbial communities using high-throughput qPCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, respectively, between mixed (dyeing and domestic) wastewater and domestic sewage. The relative abundance of ARGs in inflows of mixed wastewater (IW2 and IW3) was higher than that of domestic wastewater (IW1). The relative abundance of mobile genetic elements in the inflow of textile dyeing wastewater (IDW3) was 3- to 13-fold higher than that in other samples. Moreover, in IDW3, some distinct high abundance ARGs, particularly operons encoding efflux pumps (such as acrR-01, acrB-01 and acrF), were significantly correlated with Streptococcus of the Firmicutes. To explore why the abundance of ARGs was relatively high in mixed wastewater, six representative types of organic compounds in textile dyeing wastewater were used to test the effect on plasmid-based conjugative transfer from E. coli HB101 to E. coli NK5449. These six compounds all facilitated the transfer of resistance-carrying RP4 plasmid, and the highest transfer frequency (approximately 10^-5-10^-3) was over 4- to 200-fold higher than that in the control group (approximately 10^-6-10^-5). These results illustrated that the six common residual compounds, particularly low-dose substances in IDW3, could facilitate the dissemination of ARGs in aquatic environments. More importantly, this study revealed for the first time that dyeing contaminants influenced horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of ARGs.

Electrochemical reduction of nalidixic acid at glassy carbon electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes

The aqueous phase electrochemical degradation of nalidixic acid (NAL) is studied in this work, using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) as instrumental techniques. The promotional effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on the performance of glassy carbon electrodes is demonstrated, being observed that these materials catalyze the NAL reduction. The effect of surface functional groups on MWCNT -MWCNT-COOH and MWCNT-NH₂-was also studied. The modification of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with MWCNT leads to an improved performance for NAL reduction following the order of MWCNT>MWCNT-NH₂>MWCNT-COOH. The best behavior at MWCNT-GCE is mainly due to both the increased electrode active area and the enhanced MWCNT adsorption properties. The NAL degradation was carried out under optimal conditions (pH=5.0, deposition time=20s and volume of MWCNT=10μL) using MWCNT-GCE obtaining an irreversible reduction of NAL to less toxic products. Paramaters as the number of DPV cycles and the volume/area (V/A) ratio were optimized for maximize pollutant degradation. It was observed that after 15 DPV scans and V/A=8, a complete reduction was obtained, obtaining two sub-products identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

Ozonation in water treatment: the generation, basic properties of ozone and its practical application

The widespread applications of ozone technologies are established on the basis of large-scale manufacture of ozone generator and chemical reactivity of ozone. It is hence necessary to summarize the principles of ozone generation and to analyze the physicochemical properties of ozone, which are of fundamental significance to indicate its technical developments and practical applications. This review presents a summary concerning ozone generation mechanisms, the physicochemical properties of ozone, as well as the applications of ozone in water treatment. Ozone can be produced by phosphorus contact, silent discharge, photochemical reactions, and electrochemical reactions, principally proceeding by the reaction of oxygen atom with oxygen molecule. There are side reactions to the generation of ozone, however, which are responsible for ozone depletion including thermal decomposition and quenching reactions by reactive species. The solubility of ozone in water is much higher than that of oxygen, suggesting that it may be reliably applied in water and wastewater treatment. Based on the resonance structures of ozone, one oxygen atom in ozone molecule is electron-deficient displaying electrophilic property, whereas one oxygen atom is electron-rich holding nucleophilic property. The superior chemical reactivity of ozone can also be indirectly revealed by radical-mediated reactions initiated from homogenous and heterogeneous catalytic decomposition of ozone. Owing to the reliable generation of ozone and its robust reactive properties, it is worthy to thoroughly elaborate the applications of ozone reaction in drinking water disinfection and pre- or post-treatment of industrial wastewater including cyanide wastewater, coking wastewater, dyeing wastewater, and municipal wastewater. The structural characteristics of ozone reactors and energy requirement of applied technologies are evaluated. In addition, future directions concerning the development of ozone generation, ozone reactivity, and industrial wastewater ozonation have been proposed.

Adsorption Behavior and Mechanism of Antibiotic Sulfamethoxazole on Carboxylic-Functionalized Carbon Nanofibers-Encapsulated Ni Magnetic Nanoparticles

In this work we developed a one-step process for synthesizing carboxylic-functionalized carbon nanofibers (CNFs)-encapsulated Ni magnetic nanoparticles (Ni@CNFs) that exhibit an excellent magnetic response and a large content of hydrophilic carboxylate groups with a negative charge (RCOO(-)) on the carbon surface. The carbon-encapsulated magnetic Ni nanoparticles could be rapidly separated from water, and they showed high efficiency for adsorption of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in aqueous solution. The adsorption of SMX on Ni@CNFs as a function of pH was investigated, and the greatest adsorption occurred at pH 7.0. The adsorption isotherms for SMX on Ni@CNFs depended on different pH values. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to probe the relationship between molecular conformation and π-π interaction. The high adsorption of SMX on Ni@CNFs at pH 7.0 could be ascribed to deprotonated SMX being easily converted to a planar-like conformation, thereby resulting in the formation of π rings that were approximately parallel to the graphite surface and that enhanced strong π-π interaction. Electrostatic and π-π interactions both contributed to deprotonated SMX adsorption at pH 7.0, and they influenced the adsorption isotherm toward the Freundlich model. However, in weakly acidic environments (pH 2.0 and 4.0), the electrostatic interaction alone could induce an adsorption pattern that was similar to the Langmuir model.

Metaproteomics Applied to Activated Sludge for Industrial Wastewater Treatment Revealed a Dominant Methylotrophic Metabolism of Hyphomicrobium zavarzinii

In biological wastewater treatments, microbial populations of the so-called activated sludge work together in the abatement of pollutants. In this work, the metabolic behavior of the biomass of a lab-scale plant treating industrial pharmaceutical wastewater was investigated through a metaproteomic approach. The complete treatment process included a membrane biological reactor (MBR) coupled with an advanced oxidation process (AOP) for partial breakdown of non-biodegradable molecules. Proteins from biomass samples collected pre- and post-AOP application were investigated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE), mass spectrometry (MS), and finally identified by database search. Results showed that most proteins remained constant between pre- and post-AOP. Methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) belonging to Hyphomicrobium zavarzinii appeared as the most constantly expressed protein in the studied consortium. Other identified proteins belonging to Hyphomicrobium spp. revealed a predominant methylotrophic metabolism, and H. zavarzinii appeared as a key actor in the studied microbial community.

Continuous Bulk FeCuC Aerogel with Ultradispersed Metal Nanoparticles: An Efficient 3D Heterogeneous Electro-Fenton Cathode over a Wide Range of pH 3-9

Novel iron-copper-carbon (FeCuC) aerogel was fabricated through a one-step process from metal-resin precursors and then activated with CO2 and N2 in environmentally friendly way. The activated FeCuC aerogel was applied in a heterogeneous electro-Fenton (EF) process and exhibited higher mineralization efficiency than homogeneous EF technology. High total organic carbon (TOC) removal of organic pollutants with activated FeCuC aerogel was achieved at a wide range of pH values (3-9). The chemical oxygen demand (COD) of real dyeing wastewater was below China's discharge standard after 30 min of treatment, and the specific energy consumption was low (9.2 kW·h·kg(-1)COD(-1)), corresponding to a power consumption of only ∼0.34 kW·h per ton of wastewater. The enhanced mineralization efficiency of FeCuC aerogel was mostly attributable to ultradispersed metallic Fe-Cu nanoparticles embedded in 3D carbon matrix and the CO2-N2 treatment. The CO2 activation enhanced the accessibility of the aerogel's pores, and the secondary N2 activation enlarged the porosity and regenerated the ultradispersed zerovalent iron (Fe(0)) with reductive carbon. Cu(0) acted as a reduction promoter for interfacial electron transfer. Moreover, activated FeCuC aerogel presented low iron leaching (<0.1 ppm) in acidic solution and can be molded into different sizes with high flexibility. Thus, this material could be used as a low-cost cathode and efficient heterogeneous EF technology for actual wastewater treatment.

Removal of fluoroquinolone contaminants from environmental waters on sepiolite and its photo-induced regeneration

Sepiolite is studied as sorbent for removal of Fluoroquinolone (FQ) contaminants from water. Marbofloxacin (MAR) and Enrofloxacin (ENR) were chosen as model FQs since they are the two most commonly employed veterinary FQs in livestock farming in northern Italy. Adsorption experiments on two sepiolites (SP-1 and SSE16) were carried out in tap water at pH 7.5 to better mimic real conditions. The sorption experimental data were fitted by Freundlich, Langmuir and S-Logistic1 models. The latter better described MAR and ENR adsorptions. Adsorption capacities of SP-1 and SSE16, respectively, were 132 mg g(-1) and 121 mg g(-1) for MAR, and 112 mg g(-1) and 93 mg g(-1) for ENR. X-ray powder diffraction, performed on clay samples enriched with each FQ and on the pristine clays, showed no substantial differences between the two sepiolites and evidenced no significant structural changes after FQs uptake, as also verified by infrared spectroscopy. This indicates that adsorption occurs only on the external surface of the mineral and not in the intracrystalline microporosity, likely due to the interaction between the FQ carboxylic group and the sepiolite surface. For the first time solid-state photodegradation of the adsorbed FQs was investigated for regenerating the sorbent. Results showed that the adsorbed drugs are effectively photodegraded by solar light, thus allowing sepiolite to be reused. The efficiency of this material for remediation of contaminated water was proved on ditch water, collected downstream a swine farm, containing some tens of ng L(-1) of MAR and ENR.

Porous CuO nanostructure as a reusable catalyst for oxidative degradation of organic water pollutants

Porous CuO nanostructure exhibits high catalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue and methyl orange in the presence of H₂O₂.

Oxidative degradation of nalidixic acid by nano-magnetite via Fe2+/O2-mediated reactions

Organic pollution has become a critical issue worldwide due to the increasing input and persistence of organic compounds in the environment. Iron minerals are potentially able to degrade efficiently organic pollutants sorbed to their surfaces via oxidative or reductive transformation processes. Here, we explored the oxidative capacity of nano-magnetite (Fe3O4) having ∼ 12 nm particle size, to promote heterogeneous Fenton-like reactions for the removal of nalidixic acid (NAL), a recalcitrant quinolone antibacterial agent. Results show that NAL was adsorbed at the surface of magnetite and was efficiently degraded under oxic conditions. Nearly 60% of this organic contaminant was eliminated after 30 min exposure to air bubbling in solution in the presence of an excess of nano-magnetite. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fe K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES and EXAFS) showed a partial oxidation of magnetite to maghemite during the reaction, and four byproducts of NAL were identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (UHPLC-MS/MS). We also provide evidence that hydroxyl radicals (HO(•)) were involved in the oxidative degradation of NAL, as indicated by the quenching of the degradation reaction in the presence of ethanol. This study points out the promising potentialities of mixed valence iron oxides for the treatment of soils and wastewater contaminated by organic pollutants.

Sonophotolytic degradation of synthetic pharmaceutical wastewater: statistical experimental design and modeling

The merits of the sonophotolysis as a combination of sonolysis (US) and photolysis (UV/H2O2) are investigated in a pilot-scale external loop airlift sonophotoreactor for the treatment of a synthetic pharmaceutical wastewater (SPWW). In the first part of this study, the multivariate experimental design is carried out using Box-Behnken design (BBD). The effluent is characterized by the total organic carbon (TOC) percent removal as a surrogate parameter. The results indicate that the response of the TOC percent removal is significantly affected by the synergistic effects of the linear term of H2O2 dosage and ultrasound power with the antagonistic effect of quadratic term of H2O2 dosage. The statistical analysis of the results indicates a satisfactory prediction of the system behavior by the developed model. In the second part of this study, a novel rigorous mathematical model for the sonophotolytic process is developed to predict the TOC percent removal as a function of time. The mathematical model is based on extensively accepted sonophotochemical reactions and the rate constants in advanced oxidation processes. A good agreement between the model predictions and experimental data indicates that the proposed model could successfully describe the sonophotolysis of the pharmaceutical wastewater.

Evaluating the efficiency of advanced wastewater treatment: target analysis of organic contaminants and (geno-)toxicity assessment tell a different story

At a pilot scale wastewater treatment plant ozonation and powdered activated carbon filtration were assessed for their efficacy to remove trace organic contaminants from secondary treated effluents. A chemical analysis of 16 organic compounds was accompanied by a comprehensive suite of in vitro and in vivo bioassays with the focus on genotoxicity to account for the potential formation of reactive oxidation products. In vitro experiments were performed with solid phase extracted water samples, in vivo experiments with native wastewater in a flow through test system on site at the treatment plant. The chemical evaluation revealed an efficient oxidation of about half of the selected compounds by more than 90% at an ozone dose of 0.7 g/g DOC. A lower oxidizing efficiency was observed for the iodinated X-ray contrast media (49-55%). Activated carbon treatment (20 mg/L) was less effective for the removal of most pharmaceuticals monitored. The umuC assay on genotoxicity delivered results with about 90% decrease of the effects by ozonation and slightly lower efficiency for PAC treatment. However, the Ames test on mutagenicity with the strain YG7108 revealed a consistent and ozone-dose dependent increase of mutagenicity after wastewater ozonation compared to secondary treatment. Sand filtration as post treatment step reduced the ozone induced mutagenicity only partly. Also the fish early life stage toxicity test revealed an increase in mortality after ozonation and a reduced effect after sand filtration. Only activated carbon treatment reduced the fish mortality compared to conventional treatment on control level. Likewise the in vivo genotoxicity detected with the comet assay using fish erythrocytes confirmed an increased (geno-)toxicity after ozonation, an effect decrease after sand-filtration and no toxic effects after activated carbon treatment. This study demonstrates the need for a cautious selection of methods for the evaluation of advanced (oxidative) treatment technologies and of the effectiveness of post-treatments for elimination of adverse effects caused by oxidative treatments case by case.

Polypyrrole-enveloped Pd and Fe3O4 nanoparticle binary hollow and bowl-like superstructures as recyclable catalysts for industrial wastewater treatment

Metal and metal-oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are promising catalysts for dye degradation in wastewater treatment despite the challenges of NP recovery and recycling. In this study, water-dispersible NP superstructures with spherical morphology were constructed from hydrophobic Pd and Fe3O4 NPs by virtue of the oil droplets in an oil-in-water microemulsion as templates. Control of the evaporation rate of organic solvents in the oil droplets produces solid, hollow, and bowl-like superstructures. The component Fe3O4 and in particular Pd NPs can catalyze H2O2 degradation to create hydroxyl radicals and therewith degrade various dyes, and the magnetic Fe3O4 NPs also permit recycling of the superstructures with a magnet. Because the hollow and bowl-like superstructures increase the contact area of the NPs with their surroundings in comparison to solid superstructures, the catalytic activity is greatly enhanced. To improve the structural stability, the superstructures were further enveloped with a thin polypyrrole (PPy) shell, which does not weaken the catalytic activity. Because the current method is facile and feasible to create recyclable catalysts, it will promote the practicability of NP catalysts in treating industrial polluted water.

Treating wastewater from a pharmaceutical formulation facility by biological process and ozone

Wastewater from a pharmaceutical formulation facility (TevaKS, Israel) was treated with a biological activated-sludge system followed by ozonation. The goal was to reduce the concentrations of the drugs carbamazepine (CBZ) and venlafaxine (VLX) before discharging the wastewater to the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Both drugs were detected at extremely high concentrations in TevaKS raw wastewater ([VLX]=11.72 ± 2.2mg/L, [CBZ]=0.84 ± 0.19 mg/L), and resisted the biological treatment. Ozone efficiently degraded CBZ: at an O3 dose-to-dissolved organic carbon ratio of 0.55 (O3/DOC), the concentration of CBZ was reduced by >99%. A lower removal rate was observed for VLX, which was decreased by ≈ 98% at the higher O3/DOC ratio of 0.87. Decreasing the pH of the biologically treated effluent from 7 to 5 significantly increased the ozone degradation rate of CBZ, while decreasing the degradation rate of VLX. Ozone treatment did not alter the concentration of the effluent's DOC and filtered chemical oxygen demand (CODf). However, a significant increase was recorded (following ozonation) in the effluent's biological oxygen demand (BOD5) and the BOD5/CODf ratio. This implies an increase in the effluent's biodegradability, which is highly desirable if ozonation is followed by a domestic biological treatment. Different organic byproducts were formed following ozone reaction with the target pharmaceuticals and with the effluent organic matter; however, these byproducts are expected to be removed during biological treatment in the municipal WWTP.

Photodegradation of nalidixic acid assisted by TiO(2) nanorods/Ag nanoparticles based catalyst

Two different nanosized TiO2-based catalysts supported onto glass with tailored photocatalytic properties upon irradiation by UV light were successfully employed for the degradation of nalidixid acid, a widely diffused antibacterial agent of environmental relevance known to be non-biodegradable. Anatase rod-like TiO2 nanocrystals (TiO2NRs) and a semiconductor oxide-noble metal nanocomposite TiO2 NRs/Ag nanoparticles (NPs), synthesized by colloidal chemistry routes, were cast onto glass slide and employed as photocatalysts. A commercially available catalyst (TiO2 P25), also immobilized onto a glass slide, was used as a reference material. It was found that both TiO2 NRs/Ag NPs composite and TiO2 NRs demonstrated a photocatalytic efficiency significantly higher than the reference TiO2 P25. Specifically, TiO2 NRs/Ag NPs showed a photoactivity in nalidixic acid degradation 14 times higher than TiO2 P25 and 4 times higher than bare TiO2 NRs in the first 60min of reaction. Several by-products were identified by HPLC-MS along the nalidixic acid degradation, thus getting useful insight on the degradation pathway. All the identified by-products resulted completely removed after 6h of reaction.

Chemical and toxicological evaluation of an emerging pollutant (enrofloxacin) by catalytic wet air oxidation and ozonation in aqueous solution

This study evaluates the degradation efficiency of enrofloxacin (ENR) by catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) and ozonation. Results obtained by CWAO experiments show that 99.5% degradation, 37.0% chemical oxidation demand (COD) removal and 51.0% total organic carbon (TOC) conversion were obtained when 100 mol% FeCl(3) and 25 mol% NaNO(2) at 150 °C under 0.5 MPa oxygen pressure after 120 min are used. The degradation products are identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and ion chromatography (IC). The oxidation end products, F(-), NO(3)(-) and NH(4)(+) were determined by IC. The BOD(5)/COD ratio as a measure of the biodegradability of the parent compound increased from 0.01 to 0.12 after 120 min of reaction time, indicating an improved biodegradability of the parent compound. The inhibition of bioluminescence of the marine bacteria V. fischeri decreased from 43% to 12% demonstrating a loss in toxicity of ENR during CWAO. Ozonation of 0.2 mM ENR was carried out with an ozone concentration of 7.3 g m(-3) at pH 7. ENR decomposition with a degradation rate of 87% was obtained corresponding to the reaction time. Moderate changes in COD (18%) and TOC (17%) removal has been observed. The bioluminescence inhibition increased from 8% to 50%, due to the generation of toxic degradation products during ozonation. In comparison to the widely use of well developed method of ozonation CWAO exhibits better performance in terms of COD, TOC removals and generates less toxic products.

Phototransformation of cephalosporin antibiotics in an aqueous environment results in higher toxicity

Photodegradation may be the most important elimination process for cephalosporin antibiotics in surface water. Cefazolin (CFZ) and cephapirin (CFP) underwent mainly direct photolysis (t(1/2) = 0.7, 3.9 h), while cephalexin (CFX) and cephradine (CFD) were mainly transformed by indirect photolysis, which during the process a bicarbonate-enhanced nitrate system contributed most to the loss rate of CFX, CFD, and cefotaxime (CTX) (t(1/2) = 4.5, 5.3, and 1.3 h, respectively). Laboratory data suggested that bicarbonate enhanced the phototransformation of CFD and CFX in natural water environments. When used together, NO(3)(-), HCO(3)(-), and DOM closely simulated the photolysis behavior in the Jingmei River and were the strongest determinants in the fate of cephalosporins. TOC and byproducts were investigated and identified. Direct photolysis led to decarboxylation of CFD, CFX, and CFP. Transformation only (no mineralization) of all cephalosporins was observed through direct photolysis; byproducts were found to be even less photolabile and more toxic (via the Microtox test). CFZ exhibited the strongest acute toxicity after just a few hours, which may be largely attributed to its 5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-thiol moiety. Many pharmaceuticals were previously known to undergo direct sunlight photolysis and transformation in surface waters; however, the synergistic increase in toxicity caused by this cocktail (via pharmaceutical photobyproducts) cannot be ignored and warrants future research attention.