Bisphenol-A removal in various wastewater treatment processes: operational conditions, mass balance, and optimization

Bisphenol-A (BPA) was analyzed in 499 liquid and 347 solid samples collected from twenty-five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to investigate parameters affecting BPA occurrence, removal, and fate. Lagoons, chemically-assisted primary treatment, secondary treatment, and advanced treatment processes were included. Median BPA concentrations in influent and final effluent were 400 ng/L and 150 ng/L, respectively. Median removal efficiencies ranged from 1 to 77%. Respective median BPA levels in primary sludge, secondary biological sludge, and biosolids were 230, 260, and 460 ng/g with digested biosolids having the highest concentrations. The biological aerated filter and membrane bioreactor processes showed the best performance, while chemically-assisted primary treatment achieved the lowest removal. Biodegradation and sorption contributing to BPA removal were influenced by operational conditions: hydraulic retention time (HRT), solids retention time (SRT), and mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS). The influence of HRT, SRT, and MLSS in the bioreactor was stronger during cold temperatures. In order to achieve above 80% removal, the required conditions for HRT, SRT, and MLSS were 13 h, 7 days, and 1600 mg/L during summer (median temperature 19 °C) and 13 h, 17 days, and 5300 mg/L during winter (median temperature 10 °C); indicating that longer SRT and higher MLSS were needed during winter. BPA's sorption tendency to sludge was strongly influenced by the degree of nitrification and HRT.