When microbial electrochemistry meets UV: The applicability to high-strength real pharmaceutical industry wastewater

Rusen Zou,Kai Tang,Adam C Hambly,Urban J Wünsch,Henrik Rasmus Andersen,Irini Angelidaki,Yifeng Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127151

Rusen Zou, Kai Tang + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127151

Copy DOI

Abstract

Wastewater from pharmaceutical and related industries contains many residual pharmaceutical components rich in color and high COD contents, which cannot be removed through the traditional wastewater treatment processes. Recently, microbial electrolysis ultraviolet cell (MEUC) process has shown its promising potential to remove recalcitrant organics because of its merits of wide pH range, iron-free, and without complications of iron sludge production. However, its application to the real pharmaceutical-rich industrial wastewater is still unknown. In this study, the MEUC process was validated with real ciprofloxacin-rich (6863.79 ± 2.21 µg L−1) industrial wastewater (6840 ± 110 mg L−1 of COD). The MEUC process achieved 100% removal of ciprofloxacin, 100% decolorization, and 99.1% removal of COD within 12, 60 and 30 h, respectively, when it was operated at pH-controlled at 7.8, applied voltage of 0.6 V, UV intensity of 10 mW cm−2, and cathodic aeration velocity of 0.005 mL min−1 mL−1. Moreover, fluorescence analysis showed that protein- and humic-like substances in such wastewater were effectively removed, providing further evidence of its high treatment efficiency. Furthermore, eco-toxicity testing with luminescent bacteria Vibro Feschri confirmed that the treated effluent was utterly non-toxic. The results demonstrated the broad application potential of MEUC technology for treating industrial wastewater.

Highlights

The global demand for pharmaceuticals has soared in recent decades, driven by advances in technology, rapid population growth, and an aging population
The concentration of antibiotics detected in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) inflow was between 5 and 3700 ng L− 1, while the concentration of antibiotics in WWTP treated effluent was still as high as 8–2310 ng L− 1 (Szymanska et al, 2019)
The microbial electrolysis ultraviolet cell (MEUC), UV irradiation alone, and micro bial electrolysis cell (MEC) alone processes were compared regarding the removal of CIP, color and chemical oxygen demand (COD)

Summary

Introduction

The global demand for pharmaceuticals has soared in recent decades, driven by advances in technology, rapid population growth, and an aging population. Wastewater from antibiotics production in dustries tend to contain high in antibiotics residuals (mg L− 1 level), which flow in to municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) (Bengtsson-Palme et al, 2019) These pharmaceutical-laden wastewa ters are characterized by their complex composition, with high levels of color, COD, and salinity, as well as low biodegradability. The concentration of antibiotics detected in WWTP inflow was between 5 and 3700 ng L− 1, while the concentration of antibiotics in WWTP treated effluent was still as high as 8–2310 ng L− 1 (Szymanska et al, 2019) These studies identified various antibiotics and revealed that their related antibiotics resistance genes existed extensively throughout a wide variety of water bodies, with the potential to threaten ecosystems and humans themselves (Changotra et al, 2019b; Grenni et al, 2018; Ratola et al, 2012). Photocatalytic processes are typically associated with high production costs and low cycle efficiencies (Bansal et al, 2018; Segura et al, 2013)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion