Department of Environmental, Water and Earth Science, Faculty of Science Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
Department of Environmental, Water and Earth Science, Faculty of Science Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
J Environ Manage. 2020 Apr 15;260:110135. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110135. Epub 2020 Jan 24.
The occurrence of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) consisting of natural and synthetic estrogens, namely estrone (E), 17β-estradiol (E), estriol (E) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE) was quantified in wastewater samples. The aim of this study was to assess the removal efficiency for the selected estrogens (E, E, E and EE) and reduction of estrogenic activity in wastewater samples from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) using different processes. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods were used to quantify the selected estrogens in wastewater samples. Estrogenic activity was assessed using the T47D-KBluc gene reporter assay. Results revealed a decrease in estrogen concentrations observed in the effluents of all the WWTPs, except for E at Daspoort where no removal was noted. In general, the highest removal for total estrogens was observed at Phola (84%) combining three processes (AP, BF and wetland). The AS at Daspoort had a highest removal of 75% for E; while at Zeekoegat the highest removal reached 61% for EE. The PST at Daspoort had no removal recorded for all the compounds, except for the EE (33%). The AP and BF systems at Phola contributed to a higher removal of selected compounds. Downstream of the wetland at Phola no removal was recorded for E; while the highest removal reached 61% for E. The best performance in terms of the overall influent-to-effluent removal efficiency was observed at Phola WWTP, where E removal of 85% was recorded. The highest estrogenic activity in the effluent was reported at Phola, with an average estradiol equivalent (EEQ) value of 6.3 ± 6.7 ng/L. However, no anti-estrogenic activity was detected in any of the samples. The daily mass load discharged from the effluent of the three WWTPs was higher for E recorded at Zeekoegat (8002.3 ± 6416.3 mg/d), followed by Daspoort (3509.8 ± 849.0 mg/d) and finally Phola (176.1 ± 34.9).
废水中内分泌干扰化合物（EDCs）的含量，包括天然和合成雌激素，即雌酮（E）、17β-雌二醇（E）、雌三醇（E）和 17α-乙炔基雌二醇（EE），进行了定量分析。本研究旨在评估不同工艺处理的废水处理厂（WWTP）废水中选定雌激素（E、E、E 和 EE）的去除效率和雌激素活性的降低。采用固相萃取（SPE）和液相色谱-串联质谱（LC-MS/MS）方法测定废水中选定的雌激素。采用 T47D-KBluc 基因报告基因测定法评估雌激素活性。结果表明，除了 Daspoort 外，所有 WWTP 的出水雌激素浓度均有所下降，而在 Daspoort 则未观察到去除。一般来说，在 Phola（84%）结合三个过程（AP、BF 和湿地）时，总雌激素的去除率最高。在 Daspoort 的 AS 对 E 的去除率最高，达到 75%；而在 Zeekoegat，EE 的去除率最高，达到 61%。在 Daspoort 的 PST 对所有化合物除 EE（33%）外均未记录去除。在 Phola，AP 和 BF 系统对选定化合物的去除率较高。在 Phola 的湿地下游，E 没有被去除，而 E 的去除率最高，达到 61%。Phola WWTP 的进水到出水的整体去除效率最高，记录到 E 的去除率为 85%。在 Phola 报告了最高的出水雌激素活性，平均雌二醇当量（EEQ）值为 6.3±6.7ng/L。然而，在任何样本中都没有检测到抗雌激素活性。从三个 WWTP 的废水排放的日质量负荷中，Zeekoegat 的 E 最高（8002.3±6416.3mg/d），其次是 Daspoort（3509.8±849.0mg/d），最后是 Phola（176.1±34.9mg/d）。
