Huang Bin, Li Xiaoman, Sun Wenwen, Ren Dong, Li Xiao, Li Xiaonan, Liu Ying, Li Qiang, Pan Xuejun
Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2014 Nov;21(22):12898-908. doi: 10.1007/s11356-014-3236-6. Epub 2014 Jul 1.
The occurrence and behavior of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in sewage treatment plants (STPs), especially estrogens and phenols, have been closely concerned in previous studies. However, the systematical researches about progestogens and androgens were scarce in STPs adopting different treatment technologies. This work investigated the occurrence, removal, and fate of one progestogen, three androgens, four estrogens, and six phenols in six STPs around Dianchi Lake in China, where the influents, effluents of primary treatment, secondary treatment, and advanced treatment, as well as excess sludge samples, were analyzed. All of the above EDCs were detected out in influents of the six STPs. Bisphenol A, nonylphenol-mono-ethoxylate, and nonylphenol-diethoxylate were the dominant EDCs detected in those influent samples with the concentrations that varied from 637.6 to 1,684.0 ng/L, 633.8 to 1,540.0 ng/L, and 648.7 to 2,246.0 ng/L, respectively; E1 and dihydrotestosterone were the major steroids with the mean concentration of 126.8 and 277.4 ng/L. For effluents and sludges, phenols showed higher concentration (366.8-1,233.0 ng/L and 1,478.1-6,948.9 ng/g dry weight (dw)) and detection rate (100 %). The total removal rates were more than 80 % for most compounds in wastewater treatment processes, and high removal efficiency (86-100 %) was found for androgens and progestogens compared with estrogens (75-92 %) and phenols (62-85 %). The secondary treatment processes play significant roles on degrading EDCs, whereas the primary sedimentation has little effects. The treatment capacity of anoxic-anaerobic-anoxic membrane bioreactor and anaerobic/anoxic/oxic technologies was superior to the conventional oxidation ditch in the degradation of EDCs. The advanced treatment process, two units of filter (D-type or V-type), and ultraviolet disinfection were adopted and presented effective to remove these compounds. According to fate analysis, it was obvious that biological degradation was the main pathway on the removal of EDCs in STPs compared with adsorption. Risk quotients were calculated to assess ecological risks of those EDCs. Risk quotients of 54 and 61 % were more than 1 in effluents and sludges, respectively, showing potential hazard of effluents and sludges to the environment.
污水处理厂中内分泌干扰物（EDCs）的出现及行为，尤其是雌激素和酚类，在以往研究中备受关注。然而，对于采用不同处理技术的污水处理厂中孕激素和雄激素的系统研究却很少。本研究调查了中国滇池周边6座污水处理厂中1种孕激素、3种雄激素、4种雌激素和6种酚类的出现、去除及归宿情况，分析了进水、一级处理出水、二级处理出水、深度处理出水以及剩余污泥样本。上述所有内分泌干扰物在6座污水处理厂的进水中均被检测到。双酚A、壬基酚单乙氧基化物和壬基酚二乙氧基化物是这些进水样本中检测到的主要内分泌干扰物，其浓度分别在637.6至1684.0 ng/L、633.8至1540.0 ng/L以及648.7至2246.0 ng/L之间；雌酮（E1）和双氢睾酮是主要的类固醇，平均浓度分别为126.8和277.4 ng/L。对于出水和污泥，酚类的浓度（366.8 - 1233.0 ng/L和1478.1 - 6948.9 ng/g干重（dw））和检出率（100%）更高。在污水处理过程中，大多数化合物的总去除率超过80%，与雌激素（75 - 92%）和酚类（62 - 85%）相比，雄激素和孕激素的去除效率较高（86 - 100%）。二级处理过程在降解内分泌干扰物方面发挥着重要作用，而一级沉淀的作用较小。缺氧 - 厌氧 - 缺氧膜生物反应器和厌氧/缺氧/好氧技术在降解内分泌干扰物方面的处理能力优于传统氧化沟。采用了两级过滤（D型或V型）和紫外线消毒的深度处理工艺，对去除这些化合物有效。根据归宿分析，很明显与吸附相比，生物降解是污水处理厂中去除内分泌干扰物的主要途径。计算了风险商数以评估这些内分泌干扰物的生态风险。出水和污泥的风险商数分别有54%和61%大于1，表明出水和污泥对环境具有潜在危害。
