Unveiling the existence and ecological hazards of trace organic pollutants in wastewater treatment plant effluents across China

The presence of trace organic pollutants in the effluent of wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)poses considerable risks to aquatic organisms and human health.A large-scale survey of 302 trace organic pollutants in the effluent of 46 Chinese WWTPs was conducted to gain an improved understanding of their occurrence and ecological risks.The survey data showed that 216 compounds in 11 chemical classes had been detected in effluents.The sum concentrations of the trace contaminants in effluent ranged from 1,392 ng/L to 35,453 ng/L,with the maximum concentration of perfluoroalkyl substances(PFASs)recorded as the highest(30,573 ng/L),which was markedly less than the reported 185,000 ng/L for the 38 American WWTPs.The concentration of bisphenol analogs(BPs)was up to 4,422 ng/L,significantly higher than those reported in France,Germany,Japan,Korea,and the U.S.PFASs and BPs were the major pollutants,accounting for 59%of the total pollution.Additionally,a total of 119 contaminants were found to have ecological risks(RQ>0.01).Among these,23 contaminants(RQ>1.0)warrant higher attention and should be prioritized for removal.This study lists valuable information for controlling contaminants with higher priority in WWTP effluent in China.

Effect of Alkaline-Stabilised Sewage Sludge on Extractable Organic Carbon and Copper in Soils

An incubation experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential for water contamination with sludge-derived organic substances and copper following land application of alkaline-stabilised sewage sludge. Twocontrasting sludge-amended soils were studied. Both soils were previously treated with urban and ruralalkaline biosolids separately at sludge application rates of 0, 30 and 120 t ha-1 fresh product. The air-driedsoil/sludge mixtures were wetted with distilled water, maintained at 40 % of water-holding capacity andequilibrated for three weeks at 4 ℃ before extraction. Subsamples were extracted with either distilled wateror 0.5 mol L-1 K2SO4 solution. The concentrations of organic C in the aqueous and chemical extractswere determined directly with a total organic carbon (TOC) analyser. The concentrations of Cu in the twoextracts were also determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry The relationship between the twoextractable organic C fractions was examined, together with that between extractable organic C concentrationand extractable Cu concentration. Application of alkaline biosolids increased the concentrations of soil mobileorganic substances and Cu. The results are discussed in terms of a possible increase in the potential forleaching of sludge-derived organics and Cu in the sludge-amended soils.

Influence of meteorological factors on open biomass burning at a background site in Northeast China

Biomass burning(BB)is a very important emission source that significantly adversely impacts regional air quality.BB produces a large number of primary organic aerosol(POA)and black carbon(BC).Besides,BB also provides many precursors for secondary organic aerosol(SOA)generation.In this work,the ratio of levoglucosan(LG)to organic carbon(OC)and the fire hotspots map was used to identify the open biomass burning(OBB)events,which occurred in two representative episodes,October 13 to November 30,2020,and April1 to April 30,2021.The ratio of organic aerosol(OA)to reconstructed PM_(2.5)concentration(PM_(2.5)^(*))increased with the increase of LG/OC.When LG/OC ratio is higher than 0.03,the highest OA/PM_(2.5)^(*)ratio can reach 80%,which means the contribution of OBB to OA is crucial.According to the ratio of LG to K^(+),LG to mannosan(MN)and the regional characteristics of Longfengshan,it can be determined that the crop residuals are the main fuel.The occurrence of OBB coincides with farmers’preferred choices,i.e.,burning biomass in“bright weather”.The“bright weather”refers to the meteorological conditions with high temperature,low humidity,and without rain.Meteorological factors indirectly affect regional biomass combustion pollution by influencing farmers’active choices.

Effects of different Ca^(2+) behavior patterns in the electric field on membrane fouling formation and removal of trace organic compounds

The effects of Ca^(2+) on membrane fouling and trace organic compounds(TrOCs)removal in an electric field-assisted microfiltration system were investigated in the presence of Na^(+) alone for comparison.In the electric field,negatively charged bovine serum albumin(BSA)migrated towards the anode far away from the membrane surface,resulting in a 42.9%transmembrane pressure(TMP)reduction in the presence of Na^(+) at 1.5 V.In contrast,because of the stronger charge shielding of Ca^(2+),the electrophoretic migration of BSA was limited and led to a neglectable effect of the electric field(1.5 V)on membrane fouling.However,under 3 V applied voltage,the synergistic effects of electrochemical oxidation and bridging interaction between Ca^(2+) and BSA promoted the formation of denser settleable flocs and a thinner porous cake layer,which alleviated membrane fouling with a 64.5%decrease in TMP and nearly 100%BSA removal.The Tr OCs elimination increased with voltage and reached29.4%–80.4%at 3 V.The electric field could prolong the contact between Tr OCs and strong oxidants generated on the anode,which enhanced the Tr OCs removal.However,a stronger charge shielding ability of Ca^(2+) weakened the electric field force and thus lowered the Tr OCs removal.

Implications of membrane fouling toward the removal of the pharmaceutical sulfamethoxazole by nanofiltration processes

The influence of membrane fouling on the retention of the trace organic contaminant sulfamethoxazole by a nanofiltration(NF) process was investigated.Organic fouling caused a severe flux decline possibly due to pore blocking and adsorption directly after the commencement of the fouling layer development.Such membrane-foulant interactions were absent for colloidal fouling,which resulted in a more gradual flux decline.Membrane charge played a significant role in the separation process of inorganic salts,where the retention was the highest in a caustic environment(high pH) due to more swollen membrane material caused by the higher negative charge on the membrane.Organic fouling and a combination of colloidal and organic fouling led to a significant increase in the membrane negative charge.The influence of membrane fouling on solute retention was dependent on the fouling behaviour and the physicochemical properties of the model foulants,where the model foulants probably contributed to an increase in the retention of charged solutes due to enhanced electrostatic interactions.Organic fouling caused an increase in the retention of inorganic salts and sulfamethoxazole due to pore blocking.In contrast,colloidal fouling caused a decrease in the retention of inorganic salts due to cake-enhanced concentration polarisation.However,the presence of a colloidal fouling layer did not reduce the retention of sulfamethoxazole.A mixture of colloidal and organic matter improved the retention of inorganic salts.A similar conclusion can be inferred for sulfamethoxazole at pH 4 when the compound exists in a neutral form.

Fate and risk assessment of emerging contaminants in reclaimed water production processes

Reclaimed water has been widely applied in irrigation and industrial production.Revealing the behavior of emerging contaminants in the production process of reclaimed water is the first prerequisite for developing relevant water quality standards.This study investigated 43 emerging contaminants,including 22 pharmaceuticals and personal care products(PPCPs),11 organophosphorus flame retardants(OPFRs),and 10 antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs)in 3 reclaimed wastewater treatment plants(RWTPs)in Beijing.The composition profiles and removal efficiencies of these contaminants in RWTPs were determined.The results indicated that the distribution characteristics of the different types of contaminants in the three RWTPs were similar.Caffeine,sul2 and tris(1-chloro-2-propyl)phosphate were the dominant substances in the wastewater,and their highest concentrations were 27104 ng/L,1.4×10^(7) copies/mL and 262 ng/L,respectively.Ofloxacin and sul2 were observed to be the dominant substances in the sludge,and their highest concentrations were 5419 ng/g and 3.7×10^(8) copies/g,respectively.Anaerobic/anoxic/oxic system combined with the membrane bioreactor process achieved a relatively high aqueous removal of PPCPs(87%).ARGs and OPFRs were challenging to remove,with average removal rates of 6.5%and 31%,respectively.Quantitative meta-analysis indicated that tertiary treatment processes performed better in emerging contaminant removal than secondary processes.Diethyltoluamide exhibited the highest mass load discharge,with 33.5 mg/d per 1000 inhabitants.Octocrylene and tris(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate posed high risks(risk quotient>1.0)to aquatic organisms.This study provides essential evidence to screen high priority pollutants and develop corresponding standard in RWTPs.

Role of membrane and compound properties in affecting the rejection of pharmaceuticals by different RO/NF membranes

This study was conducted to assess the merits and limitations of various high-pressure membranes, tight nanofiltration （NF） membranes in particular, for the removal of trace organic compounds （TrOCs）. The performance of a low-pressure reverse osmosis （LPRO） membrane （ESPA1）, a tight NF membrane （NF90） and two loose NF membranes （HL and NF270） was compared for the rejection of 23 different pharmaceuticals （PhACs）. Efforts were also devoted to understand the effect of adsorption on the rejection performance of each membrane. Difference in hydrogen bond formation potential （HFP） was taken into consideration. Results showed that NF90 performed similarly to ESPA1 with mean rejection higher than 95%. NF270 outperformed HL in terms of both water permeability and PhAC rejection higher than 90%. Electrostatic effects were more significant in PhAC rejection by loose NF membranes than tight NF and LPRO membranes. The adverse effect of adsorption on rejection by HL and ESPA1 was more substantial than NF270 and NF90, which could not be simply explained by the difference in membrane surface hydrophobicity, selective layer thickness or pore size. The HL membrane had a lower rejection of PhACs of higher hydrophobicity （log D〉0） and higher HFP （〉0.02）. Nevertheless, the effects of PhAC hydrophobicity and HFP on rejection by ESPA1 could not be discerned. Poor rejection of certain PhACs could generally be explained by aspects of steric hindrance, electrostatic interactions and adsorption. High-pressure membranes like NF90 and NF270 have a high promise in TrOC removal from contaminated water.