Author
Thomas Heberer
Other affiliations: Technical University of Berlin, Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety
Bio: Thomas Heberer is an academic researcher from Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. The author has contributed to research in topics: Surface water & Water treatment. The author has an hindex of 34, co-authored 60 publications receiving 7536 citations. Previous affiliations of Thomas Heberer include Technical University of Berlin & Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety.
Topics: Surface water, Water treatment, Sewage, Wastewater, Gas chromatography
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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TL;DR: Several PhACs from various prescription classes have been found at concentrations up to the microg/l-level in sewage influent and effluent samples and also in several surface waters located downstream from municipal sewage treatment plants (STPs).
2,858 citations
TL;DR: In terms of monitoring studies carried out in Berlin between 1996 and 2000, PhACs such as clofibric acid, diclofenac, ibuprofen, propyphenazone, primidone and carbamazepine were detected at individual concentrations up to the mu/I-level in influent and effluent samples from STPs and in all surface water samples collected downstream from the STPs.
898 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the rejection of organic micropollutants such as disinfection byproducts (DBPs), endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), and pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) by nanofiltration and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes as a function of their physico-chemical properties and initial feed water concentration.
424 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the fate of selected PPCPs during ground water recharge at two water reuse sites where secondary and tertiary treated waste water is used for subsequent groundwater recharge.
Abstract: Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have recently been detected in the aquatic environment. Many studies have identified domestic waste water discharge as the source for detectable concentrations of PPCPs in surface water. PPCPs are a concern for the aquatic environment when production and use are sufficiently large and physicochemical properties are appropriate. Hydrophilic PPCPs present in surface water or waste water may also affect ground water quality where water is used to recharge ground water. However, less is known about how efficiently PPCPs are removed during percolation through the subsurface. The scope of this study was to examine the fate of selected PPCPs during ground water recharge at two water reuse sites where secondary and tertiary treated waste water is used for subsequent ground water recharge. The ground water recharge sites selected differ in aboveground treatment and geohydrological settings. The selected pharmaceutials represent blood lipid regulators, analgesics/anti-inflammatories, blood viscosity agents, and antiepileptics. Organic iodine was used as a surrogate parameter for X-ray contrast agents. Composite samples of treated waste water and from ground water monitoring wells were collected and analyzed for Pharmaceuticals using gas chromatography with mass spectroscopic detection.
The study revealed that the stimulant caffeine, analgesic/anti-inflammatory drugs such as diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, and fenoprofen, and blood lipid regulators such as gemfibrozil were efficiently removed to concentrations near or below the detection limit of the analytical method after retention times of less than six months during ground water recharge. The antiepileptics carbamazepine and primidone were not removed during ground water recharge under either anoxic saturated or aerobic unsaturated flow conditions during travel times of up to eight years. Organic iodine showed a partial removal only under anoxic, saturated conditions as compared to aerobic conditions and persisted in the recharged ground water.
246 citations
TL;DR: Comparison of the organic carbon normalized sorption coefficient K(OC) values based on correlation equations with actual experimental data revealed that the calculated data for carbamazepine is of the same order as the experimental data, showing a much higher mobility of diclofenac and ibuprofen in natural aquifer sediments than indicated by correlation equations based on octanol water distribution coefficients.
234 citations
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TL;DR: Several PhACs from various prescription classes have been found at concentrations up to the microg/l-level in sewage influent and effluent samples and also in several surface waters located downstream from municipal sewage treatment plants (STPs).
2,858 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that only very little is known about long-term effects of pharmaceuticals to aquatic organisms, in particular with respect to biological targets, and targeted ecotoxicological studies are needed focusing on subtle environmental effects.
2,844 citations
TL;DR: The main conclusions arrived at from the overall assessment of the literature are that more work needs to be done on degradation kinetics and reactor modeling of the combined process, and also dynamics of the initial attack on primary contaminants and intermediate species generation.
2,046 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the degradation of chlorophenols (CPs) by means of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) was evaluated during the period 1995-2002 and different mechanistic degradation pathways were taken into account.
Abstract: Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) constitute a promising technology for the treatment of wastewaters containing non-easily removable organic compounds. Chlorophenols (CPs) are a group of special interest due to their high toxicity and low biodegradability. Data concerning the degradation of CPs by means of AOPs reported during the period 1995–2002 are evaluated in this work. Among the AOPs, the following techniques are studied: processes based on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2+UV, Fenton, photo-Fenton and Fenton-like processes), photolysis, photocatalysis and processes based on ozone (O3, O3+UV and O3+catalyst). Half-life times and kinetic constants for CP degradation are reviewed and the different mechanistic degradation pathways are taken into account.
2,024 citations
1,998 citations