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Removal Capacity of Caffeine, Hormones, and Bisphenol by Aerobic and Anaerobic Sewage Treatment

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Abstract

The number of chemical compounds in sewage and consequently their release into the environment is increasing. Some of them are toxic and many of them are considered endocrine disrupters. Here, the capacity of three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to remove caffeine, hormones and bisphenol-A was investigated. Bisphenol-A and caffeine are highly water-soluble compounds, as opposed to hormones (estradiol, estriol, and ethynilestradiol) which are hydrophobic compounds. In the Sewage Treatment Plant (SWT)1 the sewage is treated by activated sludge process, in the second plant, SWT2, sewage is treated by upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors followed by dissolved air flotation, and in the third, SWT3 sewage is treated by stabilization lagoons. The first lagoon is 3.5 m deep, thus facultative and polishment processes occur. It was speculated that there was a difference in efficiency between the three plants in removing micropollutants. Small differences were found in the amounts removed, probably accounted for by retention time. The caffeine and bisphenol-A were almost completely removed, higher than 90% for both compounds (bisphenol-A and caffeine) in all WWTPs. The hormones, however, had a smaller rate of removal, between 70% and 87%. It is suspected that retention time is essential for removal efficiency, together with type of treatment. In fact, the hormones, caffeine, and bisphenol-A found in the environment definitely come from untreated sewage.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank to CNPq for financial aid (Grand 577060/2008-2) and the Sanepar (Parana State Sanitation Company) for allowed the sample collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba, PR, 81531-980, Brazil

    Sandro Froehner, Willian Piccioni & Karina Scurupa Machado

  2. Departament of Hydraulics and Sanitary Engineering, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba, PR, 81531-980, Brazil

    Miguel Mansur Aisse

Authors
  1. Sandro Froehner
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  2. Willian Piccioni
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  3. Karina Scurupa Machado
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  4. Miguel Mansur Aisse
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Correspondence to Sandro Froehner.

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Froehner, S., Piccioni, W., Machado, K.S. et al. Removal Capacity of Caffeine, Hormones, and Bisphenol by Aerobic and Anaerobic Sewage Treatment. Water Air Soil Pollut 216, 463–471 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0545-3

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