Removal efficiencies of natural and synthetic progesterones in hospital wastewater treated by different disinfection processes

Progesterones are ubiquitous in hospital wastewater(HWW)with concentrations much higher than those of estrogens and androgens.To ensure that these water systems are safe to use,disinfection is crucial during HWW treatment by providing"front line"defense against biological contaminations.Here,five disinfection processes,namely,chlorine(Cl_(2)),chlorine dioxide(ClO_(2)),ozone(O_(3)),ultraviolet(UV)),and UV/chlorine(UV/Cl_(2)),were selected to investigate their removal efficiencies for progesterones in primary filtration and secondary biological treatment effluents.There were 61 natural and synthetic progesterones detected in HWW,with the natural progesterones being the main components with a concentration of 845.51 ng/L and contributing to 75.08%of the total proge-sterones.The primary filtration treatment presented insignificant removal effects on the progesterones,while the secondary biological treatment significantly reduced the progesterone content by biode-gradation.The order of removal efficiencies of total progesterones by different disinfection processes was UV/Cl_(2)>Cl_(2)>O_(3)>ClO_(2)>UV.UV/Cl_(2)showed the highest removal efficiency against progesterones mainly due to the activation of Cl_(2)by ultraviolet(UV)photolysis,which helps open the heterocyclic,aromatic,and phenolic rings,thus accelerating progesterone degradation.In addition,the removal efficiencies of natural progesterones in the five disinfection processes were higher than those of synthetic progesterones(progesterone derivatives,19-nortestosterone derivatives,and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone derivatives).

Assessment and management of the performance risk of a pilot reclaimed water disinfection process

Chlorination disinfection has been widely used in reclaimed water treatment plants to ensure water quality. In order to assess the downstream quality risk of a running reclaimed water disinfection process, a set of dynamic equations was developed to simulate reactions in the disinfection process concerning variables of bacteria, chemical oxygen demand （COD）, ammonia and monochloramine. The model was calibrated by the observations obtained from a pilot disinfection process which was designed to simulate the actual process in a reclaimed water treatment plant. A Monte Carlo algorithm was applied to calculate the predictive effluent quality distributions that were used in the established hierarchical assessment system for the downstream quality risk, and the key factors affecting the downstream quality risk were defined using the Regional Sensitivity Analysis method. The results showed that the seasonal upstream quality variation caused considerable downstream quality risk; the effluent ammonia was significantly influenced by its upstream concentration; the upstream COD was a key factor determining the process effluent risk of bacterial, COD and residual disinfectant indexes; and lower COD and ammonia concentrations in the infiuent would mean better downstream quality.

Testing of the Adhesion of Herpes Simplex Virus on Textile Substrates and Its Inactivation by Household Laundry Processes

Viral infections like Herpes simplex increasingly pose a serious threat to European health care systems and welfare of the population. Indirect transmission routes of infections via inanimate surfaces are often underestimated. In this study, we investigated the adhesion and persistence of Herpes simplex virus on cotton fabrics as well as its inactivation by domestic laundry. Virus adhesion to textile fibers was distinct, because viral DNA was detectable on fabrics for at least 48 hours after contamination as well as after home laundry. Particles remained infectious for several hours at room temperature and partially for 48 hours at 2℃ - 8℃. Nevertheless, domestic laundry was able to inactivate virus particles given that detergents were adequately used. This confirmed that standard household laundry processes, as established in Europe, are a suitable tool to reduce infectious Herpes virus particles from textiles, thereby supporting the prevention of infections circulating in the household and community.

DBP formation from degradation of DEET and ibuprofen by UV/chlorine process and subsequent post-chlorination

The formation of disinfection by-products（DBPs） from the degradation of N,N-diethyl-3-methyl benzoyl amide（DEET） and ibuprofen（IBP） by the ultraviolet irradiation（UV）/chlorine process and subsequent post-chlorination was investigated and compared with the UV/H_2O_2 process.The pseudo first-order rate constants of the degradation of DEET and IBP by the UV/chlorine process were 2 and 3.1 times higher than those by the UV/H_2O_2 process, respectively, under the tested conditions. This was due to the significant contributions of both reactive chlorine species U（RCS） and hydroxyl radicals（HO） in the UV/chlorine process. Trichloromethane, 1,1,1-trichloro-2-propanone and dichloroacetic acid were the major known DBPs formed after 90% of both DEET and IBP that were degraded by the UV/chlorine process. Their yields increased by over 50%after subsequent 1-day post-chlorination. The detected DBPs after the degradation of DEET and IBP comprised 13.5% and 19.8% of total organic chlorine（TOCl）, respectively, and the proportions increased to 19.8% and 33.9% after subsequent chlorination, respectively. In comparison to the UV/H_2O_2 process accompanied with post-chlorination, the formation of DBPs and TOCl in the UV/chlorine process together with post-chlorination was 5%–63% higher,Ulikely due to the generation of more DBP precursors from the attack of RCS, in addition to HO.