Constructed wetlands with horizontal subsurface flow designed for the treatment of domestic wastewaters have been extensively monitored with respect to conventional parameters (including organic substance, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds and bacteria). In the last fifteen years, special attention has been paid to the behaviour of heavy metals during the passage through a filtering medium. Additionally to this, more recently, the fate of some pharmaceutical compounds in similar natural wastewater treatment systems has been investigated, too (Matamoros et al., 2006, 2007, 2008, Park et al., 2009) Pharmaceuticals include many classes of compounds whose chemical structure and properties can be very different from each others. Antibiotics is one of the most interesting class of water contaminants due to their wide use and diffusion. In this study, the behaviour of sulphametoxazole (C10H11N3O3S, Kow = 0.5÷0.89) and ciprofloxacin (C17H18FN3O3, Kow = 0.4) was investigated. An experimental campaign was carried out on a pilot plant, built at the wastewater treatment plant of Ferrara, Northern Italy, fed by the secondary biological effluent. It consists of a vegetated horizontal subsurface flow (12 m x 2.5 m x 0.8 m), filled by gravel (8-10 mm), with an average flow rate of 8 m3 d-1, working since 2005. Water samples will be withdrawn at the inlet and the outlet of the bed and performed for the two emerging contaminants every two weeks for 4-6 months. In the last observation period, the influent will be spiked with a solution of the two antibiotics, in order to evaluate the ability of the natural system in removing higher concentrations of these compounds and if it will show its buffering capacity in removing pollutants, “well known” in case of macro-parameters.
Evaluation of sulphametoxazole, ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim removal processes in a horizontal subsurface flow system: an experimental investigation
VERLICCHI, Paola;GALLETTI, Alessio;AL AUKIDY, Mustafa Kether;PASTI, Luisa;MARCHETTI, Nicola
2010
Abstract
Constructed wetlands with horizontal subsurface flow designed for the treatment of domestic wastewaters have been extensively monitored with respect to conventional parameters (including organic substance, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds and bacteria). In the last fifteen years, special attention has been paid to the behaviour of heavy metals during the passage through a filtering medium. Additionally to this, more recently, the fate of some pharmaceutical compounds in similar natural wastewater treatment systems has been investigated, too (Matamoros et al., 2006, 2007, 2008, Park et al., 2009) Pharmaceuticals include many classes of compounds whose chemical structure and properties can be very different from each others. Antibiotics is one of the most interesting class of water contaminants due to their wide use and diffusion. In this study, the behaviour of sulphametoxazole (C10H11N3O3S, Kow = 0.5÷0.89) and ciprofloxacin (C17H18FN3O3, Kow = 0.4) was investigated. An experimental campaign was carried out on a pilot plant, built at the wastewater treatment plant of Ferrara, Northern Italy, fed by the secondary biological effluent. It consists of a vegetated horizontal subsurface flow (12 m x 2.5 m x 0.8 m), filled by gravel (8-10 mm), with an average flow rate of 8 m3 d-1, working since 2005. Water samples will be withdrawn at the inlet and the outlet of the bed and performed for the two emerging contaminants every two weeks for 4-6 months. In the last observation period, the influent will be spiked with a solution of the two antibiotics, in order to evaluate the ability of the natural system in removing higher concentrations of these compounds and if it will show its buffering capacity in removing pollutants, “well known” in case of macro-parameters.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
