Treating wastewater from a pharmaceutical formulation facility by biological process and ozone
Yaal Lester1, Hadas Mamane, Ines Zucker
1School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
Water Research
|June 15, 2013
Summary
Ozone effectively removed carbamazepine and venlafaxine from pharmaceutical wastewater, increasing biodegradability for subsequent biological treatment. This advanced oxidation process is crucial for pharmaceutical effluent management.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Water Treatment Technologies
Background:
- Pharmaceutical wastewater contains persistent drugs like carbamazepine (CBZ) and venlafaxine (VLX).
- Biological treatment alone is insufficient for removing these recalcitrant pharmaceutical compounds.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of ozonation as a tertiary treatment for pharmaceutical wastewater.
- To reduce concentrations of CBZ and VLX in effluent before discharge to a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).
Main Methods:
- Pharmaceutical wastewater was treated using activated sludge followed by ozonation.
- Ozone dose was optimized based on the ozone-to-dissolved organic carbon (O3/DOC) ratio.
- The effect of pH on drug degradation rates was investigated.
Main Results:
- Ozonation achieved >99% removal of CBZ and ≈98% removal of VLX at optimized O3/DOC ratios.
- Lowering pH to 5 enhanced CBZ degradation but reduced VLX degradation.
- Ozonation increased effluent biodegradability (BOD5/CODf ratio) without significantly altering DOC or CODf.
Conclusions:
- Ozonation is a highly effective method for removing CBZ and VLX from pharmaceutical wastewater.
- The increased biodegradability post-ozonation is beneficial for downstream biological treatment.
- Byproducts of ozonation are expected to be removed in a subsequent municipal WWTP.
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