Occurrence and Removal of PPCPs in Urban Wastewater

The occurrence and removal of thirty representative pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in two urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were investigated for the period of one year to evaluate current systems' treatment efficacy and assess reusability for the wastewater. Results obtained from this study showed that in the wastewater influents, all but three target PPCPs were routinely detected at average total concentration of 133-139 μg/L with 30-35% of coefficient of variation; acetaminophen, DEET, caffeine, ibuprofen, and naproxen were present at the highest concentrations (> 10 μg/L). The removal efficiency by the wastewater treatment processes varied greatly among different PPCP compounds. The average removal rate in terms of total PPCP concentration reduction between the influent and effluent was 91 ± 6% at WWTP 1 and 92 ± 4% at WWTP 2. The data indicated a seasonal dependence with higher PPCPs removal rate in warmer weather in WWTPs.