Occurrence of pharmaceutical compounds in urban wastewater: Removal, mass load and environmental risk after a secondary treatment—A review

Nonylphenol in the environment: A critical review on occurrence, fate, toxicity and treatment in wastewaters

Biological degradation of pharmaceuticals in municipal wastewater treatment: proposing a classification scheme.

Occurrence and fate of emerging contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plants from different geographical regions-a review.

Removal of pharmaceuticals and fragrances in biological wastewater treatment.

The removal of estrogens (estrone E1, estradiol E2, and ethinylestradiol EE2) was studied in various municipal wastewater treatment processes equipped for nutrient removal. A biological degradation model is formulated, and kinetic parameters are evaluated with batch experiments under various redox conditions. The resulting model calculations are then compared with sampling campaigns performed on different types of full-scale plant:  conventional activated-sludge treatment, a membrane bioreactor, and a fixed-bed reactor. The results show a >90% removal of all estrogens in the activated sludge processes. (Due to the analytical quantification limit and low influent concentrations, however, this removal efficiency represents only an observable minimum.) The removal efficiencies of 77% and ≥90% for E1 and E2, respectively, in the fixed-bed reactor represent a good performance in view of the short hydraulic retention time of 35 min. The first-order removal-rate constant in batch experiments observed for E2 vari...

Philip R. Richle

Papers

Removal of Estrogens in Municipal Wastewater Treatment under Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditions: Consequences for Plant Optimization