Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark.
Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark.
Water Res. 2020 Dec 15;187:116451. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116451. Epub 2020 Sep 23.
Discharge of recalcitrant pharmaceuticals into aquatic environments can lead to serious negative environmental effects. While traditional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are efficient for a wide range of non-toxic pollutants (i.e. ammonia), some wastewater streams contain recalcitrant toxic trace micropollutants such as pharmaceuticals that cannot be removed by the treatment processes that are typically employed in common WWTPs. Herein, an innovative 20 L microbial electrochemical ultraviolet photolysis cell (MEUC) was developed for the first time by the integration of a UV irradiation and a bioelectrochemical system, which exhibited efficient treatment of carbamazepine-a model pharmaceutical compound. Notably, neither the UV irradiation nor the bioelectrochemical system alone could effectively eliminate carbamazepine. The effect of operational parameters including applied voltage, cathodic aeration rate, UV intensity, and hydraulic retention time were evaluated. The obtained results elucidated that the degradation of carbamazepine was consistent with pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics, and required a lower energy input than traditional advanced oxidation processes. Five main transformation products were identified, and probable transformation pathways were established. Furthermore, the eco-toxicity as tested by Vibrio fischeri showed no significant bioluminescence inhibition by the treated carbamazepine effluent. Finally, the MEUC system was further tested with a real wastewater matrix, which again exhibited effective removal of carbamazepine. This paper provides a proof-of-concept verification of the novel MEUC system, which contributes insight for the subsequent vigorous development of the application of such efficient and cost-effective technologies for the treatment of trace pharmaceuticals wastewater.
难降解药物排放到水生环境中会导致严重的负面环境影响。虽然传统的污水处理厂 (WWTP) 对各种无毒污染物（如氨）有效，但一些废水流中含有难以生物降解的有毒痕量微污染物，如无法通过常见 WWTP 中通常采用的处理工艺去除的药物。在此，首次通过集成紫外线照射和生物电化学系统，开发了一种创新的 20 L 微生物电化学紫外光解池 (MEUC)，该系统高效处理了卡马西平——一种模型药物化合物。值得注意的是，单独的紫外线照射或生物电化学系统均无法有效消除卡马西平。评估了操作参数的影响，包括施加电压、阴极曝气率、UV 强度和水力停留时间。获得的结果表明，卡马西平的降解符合准一级反应动力学，并且所需的能量输入低于传统的高级氧化工艺。鉴定了 5 种主要的转化产物，并建立了可能的转化途径。此外，发光细菌（Vibrio fischeri）测试的生态毒性表明，处理后的卡马西平流出物没有显著的生物发光抑制作用。最后，进一步用实际废水基质对 MEUC 系统进行了测试，该系统再次有效去除了卡马西平。本文提供了对新型 MEUC 系统的概念验证，为随后大力开发此类高效且具有成本效益的技术在痕量药物废水处理中的应用提供了思路。
