Sorption of 71 Pharmaceuticals to Powder Activated Carbon for Improved Wastewater Treatment

Maritha Hörsing, Henrik Rasmus Andersen, Roman Grabic, Jes la Cour Jansen and Anna Ledin
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Maritha Hörsing: Water and Environmental Engineering at Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
Henrik Rasmus Andersen: Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, B113, DK-2800 Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
Roman Grabic: Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden
Jes la Cour Jansen: Water and Environmental Engineering at Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
Anna Ledin: Water and Environmental Engineering at Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden

Clean Technol., 2022, vol. 4, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: In this study, sorption distribution coefficients were determined for 71 pharmaceuticals, aiming to describe their sorption behavior to powder activated carbon (PAC). The data are expected to be applied when designing and upgrading wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) for improved removal of pharmaceuticals by applying sorption to PAC as an additional removal technique. Sorption isotherms were determined for the pharmaceuticals over a concentration interval covering a wide range from 0.08 to 10 µg/L using PAC at a concentration of 10 mg/L. The best fitted sorption isotherms were used to calculate the distribution coefficients ( K d ) and these were applied to estimate that the PAC doses needed to achieve a target concentration of 10 ng/L in the effluent. A target concentration was used since neither discharge limit values nor environmental quality standards in general have been defined for these compounds. Using a %-removal approach does not guarantee achievement of concentrations low enough to protect the water ecosystems. Some of the pharmaceuticals will be reduced by the addition of small amounts of PAC. Examples are atenolol, carbamazepine, citalopram, codeine, fluoxetine and ibuprofen. For others, e.g., oxazepam, an alternative treatment has to be considered since the requested dose is too high to be realistic for a target concentration of 10 ng/L.

Keywords: pharmaceuticals; powder activated carbon; sorption; sorption isotherms; wastewater treatment; distribution coefficients K d (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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