Application of anaerobic biotechnology for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment
04 Mar 2011-Vol. 2, Iss: 1, pp 13-21
TL;DR: Changing in the organic loading affected the treatment performance of the anaerobic reactor, and at high OLRs, it was not able to withstand the short HRT, probably due to the complexity of pharmaceutical wastewater.
Abstract: The wastewater generated from pharmaceutical industry generally contain high organic load and the treatment is primarily carried out using two major types of biological methods; aerobic and anaerobic. However, due to high strength, it is infeasible to treat some pharmaceutical wastewater using aerobic biological processes. As an alternative, an anaerobic process is preferred to remove high strength organic matter. Anaerobic wastewater treatment is considered as the most cost effective solution for organically polluted industrial waste streams. In particular the development of high rate systems, in which hydraulic retention times (HRT) are uncoupled from solids retention times (SRT), has led to a worldwide acceptance of anaerobic wastewater treatment. In this paper, literature on anaerobic digestion, anaerobic reactor technology and existing anaerobic treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater are presented. In addition, fate of pharmaceuticals in the environment was also discussed in brief. A case study of a laboratory investigation into the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater containing the antibiotic Tylosin in an anaerobic reactor was also given. Specifically, it was determined whether the anaerobic reactor could be used as a pre-treatment system at an existing pharmaceutical production plant. The performance of the reactor treating real pharmaceutical wastewater at various organic loading rate (OLR) was investigated and showed efficient substrate removal at low OLRs (0.43 - 1.86 kg COD.m -3 .d -1 ) by promoting efficient chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction (70 - 75%). Under these conditions, an average of 95% Tylosin reduction was achieved in the UASR. However, increasing the OLRs to 3.73 kg COD.m -3 .d -1 by reducing the hydraulic retention time (HRT) (4 - 2 d) reduced the COD removal efficiency (45%). Changes in the organic loading affected the treatment performance of the anaerobic reactor, and at high OLRs, it was not able to withstand the short HRT, probably due to the complexity of pharmaceutical wastewater.
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TL;DR: The use of conventional treatment methods along with membrane reactors and advanced posttreatment methods resulting in a hybrid wastewater treatment technology appear to be the best and will prove useful for treatment of wastewater from the pharmaceutical industry.
Abstract: Pharmaceutical compounds are typically produced in batch processes leading to the presence of a wide variety of products in wastewaters which are generated in different operations, wherein copious quantities of water are used for washing of solid cake, or extraction, or washing of equipment. The presence of pharmaceutical compounds in drinking water comes from two different sources: production processes of the pharmaceutical industry and common use of pharmaceutical compounds resulting in their presence in urban and farm wastewaters. The wastewaters generated in different processes in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and drugs contain a wide variety of compounds. Further, reuse of water after removal of contaminants, whether pharmaceuticals or otherwise, is required by industry. In view of the scarcity of water resources, it is necessary to understand and develop methodologies for treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater as part of water management. In this review, the various sources of wastewaters in the pharmaceutical industry are identified and the best available technologies to remove them are critically evaluated. Effluent arising from different sectors of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), bulk drugs, and related pharmaceutics, which use large quantities of water, is evaluated and strategies are proposed to recover to a large extent the valuable compounds, and finally the treatment of very dilute but detrimental wastewaters is discussed. No single technology can completely remove pharmaceuticals from wastewaters. The use of conventional treatment methods along with membrane reactors and advanced posttreatment methods resulting in a hybrid wastewater treatment technology appear to be the best. The recommendations provided in this analysis will prove useful for treatment of wastewater from the pharmaceutical industry.
554 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an up-flow submerged aerated biological filter (SABF) was used for treating a mixture of VOCs in pharmaceutical wastewater, and the effects of airflow rate, hydraulic retention time and organic loading rate on VOC emission were evaluated.
43 citations
TL;DR: A habitat-specific microbial consortium was developed and reconstituted from 22 pure cultures dominated by Acinetobacter sp., Bacillus sp, and Pseudomonas sp to form a synthetic biofilm-forming community with the capacity to degrade phenol-contaminated wastewater as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Singapore is an island city state with an economy dependent on petrochemicals and shipping, but with severely limited water resources. This study aimed to establish a suitable methodology specifically for the translation of a laboratory-scale system to an industrial scale for the treatment of phenol-contaminated wastewater. A habitat-specific microbial consortium was developed and reconstituted from 22 pure cultures dominated by Acinetobacter sp., Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. to form a synthetic biofilm-forming community with the capacity to degrade phenol-contaminated wastewater. The laboratory experiment was scaled-up to 400 m3 by using biotrickling reactors to reduce the phenol level from 407 mg L−1 to below detection limit over 104 days incubation. The results showed that the microbial consortia could also reduce the toxicity of the wastewater while degrading the phenol and lowering the wastewater COD. Further, this approach could be translated into the field without the need for a purpose-built primary treatment facility preventing the generation of excessive biomass and eliminating the need for sludge disposal.
29 citations
Cites background from "Application of anaerobic biotechnol..."
...The assessment of ecotoxicity has also been given some notable attention in the petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries where the effluent discharge has been known to contain hazardous pollutants (Chelliapan and Sallis 2011)....
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TL;DR: It was found that the highest treatment yields for COD (98%) and CIP (88%) pollutants were obtained with the photocatalytic process due to high OH● radical productions.
Abstract: The treatability of ciprofloxacin (CIP) antibiotic was investigated using a single aerobic, a single anaerobic, an anaerobic/aerobic sequential reactor system, a sonicator and a photocatalytic reactor with TiO2 nanoparticles in a raw hospital wastewater in Izmir, Turkey. The effects of increasing organic loading on the performance of all biological systems were investigated, while the effects of power and time on the yields of sonication and photocatalysis were determined. The maximum COD and CIP yields were 95% and 83% in anaerobic/aerobic sequential reactor system at an HRT of 10 days and at an OLR of 0.19 g COD/L × day after 50 days of incubation, respectively. The maximum CH4 gas production was 580 mL day−1 at an HRT of 6.7 days. The maximum COD and CIP yields were 95% and 81% after 45 min sonication time at a power of 640 W and a frequency of 35 kHz while the maximum yield of COD and CIP were 98% and 88% after 45 min UV irradiation time with a UV power of 210 W using 0.5 g L−1 TiO2. Among the...
12 citations
Cites background from "Application of anaerobic biotechnol..."
...[24,25] The MLVSS concentrations increased to 4450, 36,000 and to 40,450 mgL in the aerobic and anaerobic and sequential reactors, respectively, at 65 days (Table 1)....
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01 Jan 2020
TL;DR: In this paper, the dual oxidative/reductive environment of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) allows the degradation of a wide range of compounds, while modifying operating conditions or electrode materials such as composition of anolyte, anode catalyst, preacclimation of biocatalyst, physicochemical pretreatment, and electric stimulation can further increase the degradability of real PW in MFCs.
Abstract: Pharmaceutical wastewater (PW), owing to its complex and varied composition, is recalcitrant in nature. Thus treatment of PW requires a technology that can degrade not only organics but also the complex drug molecules. Antibiotics are one of the chief components of PW, which if released untreated into the water bodies, will heavily affect the aquatic life, and create antibiotic resistant microorganisms. While the conventional treatment techniques are expensive, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an inexpensive energy generating technology. The dual oxidative/reductive environment of MFCs allows the degradation of a wide range of compounds, while modifying operating conditions or electrode materials such as composition of anolyte, anode catalyst, preacclimation of biocatalyst, physicochemical pretreatment, and electric stimulation can further increase the degradability of real PW in MFCs. Thus MFCs can prove to be a promising technology by degrading trace organic material such as pharmaceuticals removal and generating simultaneous renewable energy.
10 citations
References
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11 Dec 2013
TL;DR: Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater seventh edition, Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater seventh edition , کتابخانه دیجیتال جندی اهواز.
Abstract: Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater seventh edition , Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater seventh edition , کتابخانه دیجیتال جندی شاپور اهواز
13,342 citations
TL;DR: This review attempts to synthesize the literature on environmental origin, distribution/occurrence, and effects and to catalyze a more focused discussion in the environmental science community.
Abstract: During the last three decades, the impact of chemical pollution has focused almost exclusively on the conventional "priority" pollutants, especially those acutely toxic/carcinogenic pesticides and industrial intermediates displaying persistence in the environment. This spectrum of chemicals, however, is only one piece of the larger puzzle in "holistic" risk assessment. Another diverse group of bioactive chemicals receiving comparatively little attention as potential environmental pollutants includes the pharmaceuticals and active ingredients in personal care products (in this review collectively termed PPCPs), both human and veterinary, including not just prescription drugs and biologics, but also diagnostic agents, "nutraceuticals," fragrances, sun-screen agents, and numerous others. These compounds and their bioactive metabolites can be continually introduced to the aquatic environment as complex mixtures via a number of routes but primarily by both untreated and treated sewage. Aquatic pollution is particularly troublesome because aquatic organisms are captive to continual life-cycle, multigenerational exposure. The possibility for continual but undetectable or unnoticed effects on aquatic organisms is particularly worrisome because effects could accumulate so slowly that major change goes undetected until the cumulative level of these effects finally cascades to irreversible change--change that would otherwise be attributed to natural adaptation or ecologic succession. As opposed to the conventional, persistent priority pollutants, PPCPs need not be persistent if they are continually introduced to surface waters, even at low parts-per-trillion/parts-per-billion concentrations (ng-microg/L). Even though some PPCPs are extremely persistent and introduced to the environment in very high quantities and perhaps have already gained ubiquity worldwide, others could act as if they were persistent, simply because their continual infusion into the aquatic environment serves to sustain perpetual life-cycle exposures for aquatic organisms. This review attempts to synthesize the literature on environmental origin, distribution/occurrence, and effects and to catalyze a more focused discussion in the environmental science community.
4,347 citations
TL;DR: Present knowledge does not reveal if regular therapeutic use may be the source of a substance carried by sewage effluent into the aquatic system, even though clofibrate, a lipid lowering agent, has been identified in ground and tap water samples from Berlin.
3,204 citations
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