Assessing nutrient and pharmaceutical removal efficiency from wastewater using shallow wetland treatment mesocosms
Loading...
Date
2013-03-13
Authors
Cardinal, Pascal
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Wastewaters from rural sewage lagoons in Manitoba contain pharmaceuticals that
are potentially harmful to non-target organisms and reduce overall water quality when
released. An option for reducing exposure to wastewater contaminants and potential
toxicity is surface flow treatment wetlands. However, little is known of the fate of
pharmaceuticals in these types of systems. The fate and effects of six pharmaceuticals
(carbamazepine, clofibric acid, fluoxetine, naproxen, sulfamethoxazole, sulfapyridine)
were assessed in mesocosms simulating treatment wetlands in two separate 28-day
experiments in the summer and fall of 2011, respectively: with and without significant
aquatic plant communities, and with additional nutrients and harvesting of biomass. The
removal of pharmaceuticals had half-lives that ranged from 0.23 to 9.4 days and 1.4 to 18
days during the summer and fall, respectively, and were predicted to occur primarily
through photolysis and sorption. No overt toxicity from pharmaceuticals was observed
for the common wetland macrophytes Myriophyllum sibiricum and Typha spp., but there
was partitioning and bioaccumulation into macrophyte biomass. Treatment wetlands
appeared to reduce pharmaceuticals and nutrients adequately, and may be a cost-effective
means of treating rural wastewater.
Description
Keywords
mesocosms, pharmaceuticals, wastewater, nutrients