Mapping Emerging Contaminants in Wastewater Effluents through Multichromatographic Platform Analysis and Source...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Water Quality

Background:

• Wastewater effluents contain contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) that pose environmental risks.
• Current monitoring often overlooks wet-weather discharges and their impact on CEC profiles.
• Understanding CEC behavior during rain events is crucial for effective wastewater management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation of CECs in wastewater effluents under various conditions.
• To identify CECs introduced by rainfall and their sources.
• To assess the impact of rain events on CEC removal efficiencies in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).

Main Methods:

• Utilized liquid chromatography (LC), supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), and GC × GC coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS).
• Identified over 300 compounds, including polar and nonpharmaceutical CECs.
• Employed correlation analysis to understand the impact of rainfall on effluent composition.

Main Results:

• Rainfall significantly altered wastewater effluent composition, introducing CECs from runoff and retention basins.
• Rain events reduced the removal efficiency of easily degradable CECs, with variations across WWTPs.
• Persistent compounds like PFAS showed strong intragroup correlations, indicating common sources.

Conclusions:

• Correlation analysis is a valuable tool for understanding complex CEC profiles in wastewater.
• Rainfall introduces distinct CEC patterns, necessitating adaptive treatment strategies.
• Findings support optimizing WWTP treatments based on specific challenges, including wet-weather impacts.