Abstract
The occurrence and removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was examined at different stages at a anaerobic-anoxic-oxic biological wastewater treatment plant in Qingdao City, eastern China. Results shown that 13 PAHs were detected at different treatment stage in wastewater and sludge. The total concentration in the influents was 15194.3ng/L, higher than the existing reports. Most abundant PAHs in influent were Naphthalene, Benzo(g,h,i)perylene, and Pyrene, accounting for 86.4%. The removal efficiencies of individual PAH compounds ranged from -7.5% to 73.5% in the total treatment process. A significant relationship was observed between the removal efficiency and log Kow of the PAH compounds in the grit stage (when the values of log Kow were higher than approximately 5), suggesting that these compounds were principally removed through sorption to sludge particles and transfer to sludge processing systems. In secondary stage, the removal efficiency of PAHs was only 4.4% due to impact of low temperature on biological activity. The removal efficiency of 28.8% indicated A2O process was not ideal in removing PAHs.
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