Lamichhane Krishna, Babcock Roger
University of Hawaii, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2540 Dole Street, Holmes 283, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
J Environ Monit. 2012 Oct 26;14(10):2557-65. doi: 10.1039/c2em30254c. Epub 2012 Aug 28.
Elevated concentrations of estrogens in natural waters pose a significant threat to public health and aquatic ecosystems. Both natural (estrone, 17β-estradiol and estriol) and synthetic (17α ethynylestradiol) estrogens, ubiquitous in wastewater effluents and receiving waters, have been shown to affect the endocrine system of human and aquatic life. The effects vary from cancer to sex reversals at levels as low as parts per trillion in sensitive organisms. Separation of urine, which constitutes only about 1% of domestic sewage and contains nearly all of the excreted estrogens, potentially offers an energy-efficient way to contain and then treat these chemicals. With a capital expense of $2100 and operation and maintenance costs of $69 per year for a urine diverting toilet system, a family in the USA can realize estimated savings of $101 per year in energy, water, and nutrients and a decrease of 100 kg in greenhouse gas emissions. To remove 99% of estrogenicity in discharged waters would require approximately 12 kW h per year using continuous electrodialysis followed by ozonation (O(3)) of source separated urine. To achieve the same results by adding O(3) treatment after activated sludge at existing municipal wastewater treatment plants would require 23 kW h per year. From an energy standpoint it makes sense to practice source separation and treatment of urine to limit estrogen discharges into the environment.
天然水体中雌激素浓度升高对公众健康和水生生态系统构成重大威胁。天然雌激素（雌酮、17β-雌二醇和雌三醇）和合成雌激素（17α-乙炔基雌二醇）在废水排放物和受纳水体中普遍存在，已被证明会影响人类和水生生物的内分泌系统。在敏感生物体内，即使浓度低至万亿分之一，这些雌激素的影响也从致癌到性别逆转不等。尿液仅占生活污水的约1%，却几乎包含了所有排出的雌激素，对尿液进行分离可能提供一种节能的方式来收集并处理这些化学物质。对于一个尿液分流马桶系统，其资本支出为2100美元，每年的运营和维护成本为69美元，美国的一个家庭每年在能源、水和养分方面估计可节省101美元，温室气体排放量可减少100千克。若采用连续电渗析然后对源分离尿液进行臭氧（O(3)）处理，每年去除排放水中99%的雌激素活性大约需要12千瓦时。若在现有城市污水处理厂的活性污泥处理后添加臭氧处理来达到相同效果，则每年需要23千瓦时。从能源角度来看，对尿液进行源分离和处理以限制雌激素向环境中的排放是合理的。
