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Sorption of 71 Pharmaceuticals to Powder Activated Carbon for Improved Wastewater Treatment

Hörsing, Maritha LU ; Andersen, Henrik Rasmus ; Grabic, Roman ; Jansen, Jes la Cour LU and Ledin, Anna LU (2022) In Clean Technologies 4(2). p.296-308
Abstract

In this study, sorption distribution coefficients were determined for 71 pharmaceuticals, aiming to describe their sorption behavior to powder activated carbon (PAC). The data are expected to be applied when designing and upgrading wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) for improved removal of pharmaceuticals by applying sorption to PAC as an additional removal technique. Sorption isotherms were determined for the pharmaceuticals over a concentration interval covering a wide range from 0.08 to 10 µg/L using PAC at a concentration of 10 mg/L. The best fitted sorption isotherms were used to calculate the distribution coefficients (Kd ) and these were applied to estimate that the PAC doses needed to achieve a target concentration of... (More)

In this study, sorption distribution coefficients were determined for 71 pharmaceuticals, aiming to describe their sorption behavior to powder activated carbon (PAC). The data are expected to be applied when designing and upgrading wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) for improved removal of pharmaceuticals by applying sorption to PAC as an additional removal technique. Sorption isotherms were determined for the pharmaceuticals over a concentration interval covering a wide range from 0.08 to 10 µg/L using PAC at a concentration of 10 mg/L. The best fitted sorption isotherms were used to calculate the distribution coefficients (Kd ) and these were applied to estimate that the PAC doses needed to achieve a target concentration of 10 ng/L in the effluent. A target concentration was used since neither discharge limit values nor environmental quality standards in general have been defined for these compounds. Using a %-removal approach does not guarantee achievement of concentrations low enough to protect the water ecosystems. Some of the pharmaceuticals will be reduced by the addition of small amounts of PAC. Examples are atenolol, carbamazepine, citalopram, codeine, fluoxetine and ibuprofen. For others, e.g., oxazepam, an alternative treatment has to be considered since the requested dose is too high to be realistic for a target concentration of 10 ng/L.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
distribution coefficients K, pharmaceuticals, powder activated carbon, sorption, sorption isotherms, wastewater treatment
in
Clean Technologies
volume
4
issue
2
pages
13 pages
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:85129771767
ISSN
2571-8797
DOI
10.3390/cleantechnol4020017
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
acad2e0b-c697-41cf-bda8-da4a13052a23
date added to LUP
2023-01-04 12:53:50
date last changed
2023-12-20 10:19:39
@article{acad2e0b-c697-41cf-bda8-da4a13052a23,
  abstract     = {{<p>In this study, sorption distribution coefficients were determined for 71 pharmaceuticals, aiming to describe their sorption behavior to powder activated carbon (PAC). The data are expected to be applied when designing and upgrading wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) for improved removal of pharmaceuticals by applying sorption to PAC as an additional removal technique. Sorption isotherms were determined for the pharmaceuticals over a concentration interval covering a wide range from 0.08 to 10 µg/L using PAC at a concentration of 10 mg/L. The best fitted sorption isotherms were used to calculate the distribution coefficients (K<sub>d</sub> ) and these were applied to estimate that the PAC doses needed to achieve a target concentration of 10 ng/L in the effluent. A target concentration was used since neither discharge limit values nor environmental quality standards in general have been defined for these compounds. Using a %-removal approach does not guarantee achievement of concentrations low enough to protect the water ecosystems. Some of the pharmaceuticals will be reduced by the addition of small amounts of PAC. Examples are atenolol, carbamazepine, citalopram, codeine, fluoxetine and ibuprofen. For others, e.g., oxazepam, an alternative treatment has to be considered since the requested dose is too high to be realistic for a target concentration of 10 ng/L.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hörsing, Maritha and Andersen, Henrik Rasmus and Grabic, Roman and Jansen, Jes la Cour and Ledin, Anna}},
  issn         = {{2571-8797}},
  keywords     = {{distribution coefficients K; pharmaceuticals; powder activated carbon; sorption; sorption isotherms; wastewater treatment}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{296--308}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Clean Technologies}},
  title        = {{Sorption of 71 Pharmaceuticals to Powder Activated Carbon for Improved Wastewater Treatment}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cleantechnol4020017}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/cleantechnol4020017}},
  volume       = {{4}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}