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Article history: The occurrence of sixteen pharmaceutically active compounds in inuent and efuent wastewater and
Received 11 January 2012 in primary, secondary and digested sludge in one-year period has been evaluated. Solidwater parti-
Received in revised form 25 April 2012 tion coefcients (Kd ) were calculated to evaluate the efciency of removal of these compounds from
Accepted 29 April 2012
wastewater by sorption onto sludge. The ecotoxicological risk to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, due
Available online 7 May 2012
to wastewater discharges to the receiving streams and to the application of digested sludge as fertil-
izer onto soils, was also evaluated. Twelve of the pharmaceuticals were detected in wastewater at mean
Keywords:
concentrations from 0.1 to 32 g/L. All the compounds found in wastewater were also found in sewage
Pharmaceutically active compound
Wastewater
sludge, except diclofenac, at mean concentrations from 8.1 to 2206 g/kg dm. Ibuprofen, salicylic acid,
Sludge gembrozil and caffeine were the compounds at the highest concentrations. Log Kd values were between
Solidwater partition coefcient 1.17 (naproxen) and 3.48 (carbamazepine). The highest ecotoxicological risk in efuent wastewater and
Environmental risk assessment digested sludge is due to ibuprofen (risk quotient (RQ): 3.2 and 4.4, respectively), 17-ethinylestradiol
(RQ: 12 and 22, respectively) and 17-estradiol (RQ: 12 and 359, respectively). Ecotoxicological risk after
wastewater discharge and sludge disposal is limited to the presence of 17-estradiol in digested-sludge
amended soil (RQ: 2.7).
2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
0304-3894/$ see front matter 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2012.04.068
J. Martn et al. / Journal of Hazardous Materials 239240 (2012) 4047 41
(sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim), a -blocker (propranolol), (Telstar, Terrasa, Spain), sieved (particle size <100 m) and stored,
two lipid regulators (clobric acid and gembrozil), an antiepileptic when necessary, in glass bottles at 30 C until analysis. The water
drug (carbamazepine), four estrogens (17-ethinylestradiol, 17- content of sludge samples after lyophilization was calculated by
estradiol, estriol and estrone), and a nervous stimulant (caffeine). drying lyophilized sludge in an oven at 105 C. Their moisture con-
Salicylic acid and clobric acid are metabolites of pharmaceuticals tent was taken into account to refer concentrations to sludge dry
(acetilsalicylic and clobrate, respectively) extensively metabo- matter.
lized. The presence of caffeine in wastewater is due, in a lower
extent, to its presence in pills and, in a higher extent, to its presence 2.3. Analytical methods
in food-related sources, as coffee and soft drinks.
Pharmaceutical compounds were analyzed according to previ-
ously reported and validated methods [14,15]. Extraction of the
2. Experimental
pharmaceutically active compounds from wastewater was carried
out by solid-phase extraction according to Camacho-Munoz et al.
2.1. Chemicals and reagents
[14]. Sludge analysis was based on the extraction of the pharma-
ceutical compounds by ultrasonic-assisted extraction and clean-up
HPLC-grade water, acetonitrile and methanol were purchased
by solid-phase extraction according to Martn et al. [15]. In both
from Romil Ltd. (Barcelona, Spain). Hexane, acetone (HPLC
cases, the chromatographic analysis was performed using an HPLC
grade) and sulfuric acid of analytical grade were obtained from
1200 Series instrument (Agilent, USA) equipped with an ultravio-
Panreac (Barcelona, Spain). Potassium dihydrogen phosphate
let diode array (DAD) and a rapid scan uorescence (Fl) detector
of analytical grade was purchased from Scharlau (Barcelona,
connected on line. Separations were carried out using a Zorbax
Spain). Carbamazepine, diclofenac, ketoprofen, naproxen and sal-
Eclipse XDB-C18 (150 mm 4.6 mm, 5 m) cartridge column (Agi-
icylic acid (97100% purity) were purchased from SigmaAldrich
lent, USA) protected by a XDB-C18 (4 mm 4 mm, 5 m) guard
(Steinheim, Germany). Caffeine was obtained from Merck (Darm-
column (Agilent, USA). Chromatographic analysis was carried out
stadt, Germany). Clobric acid, gembrozil, ibuprofen, propra-
by gradient elution with acetonitrile and a 25 mM potassium dihy-
nolol hydrochloride, 17-ethinylestradiol, 17-estradiol, estriol,
drogen phosphate solution as previously reported [14].
estrone, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim (99% purity) were
purchased from Dr. Ehrenstorfer (Augsburg, Germany). Three-
2.4. Solidwater partition coefcients, Kd
milliliters solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridges, packed with
60 mg of Oasis HLB, were purchased from Waters (Milford, MA,
Solidwater partition coefcients (Kd ), corresponding to the
USA).
distributions of the pharmaceutical compounds between primary
Stock solutions of each pharmaceutical compound, at a concen-
sludge and inuent wastewater and between secondary sludge and
tration level of 1000 mg/L, were prepared in methanol and stored at
efuent wastewater, were calculated by the Eq. (1):
4 C. Working solutions were prepared by diluting the stock stan-
dard solutions in methanol. Csolid
Kd =
Cwater
2.2. Wastewater and sludge sampling where Kd is expressed in L/kg, Csolid is the concentration of the phar-
maceutical compound in the solid phase (g/kg dry matter (dm))
Inuent and efuent wastewater and primary, secondary and and Cwater is the concentration of the pharmaceutical compound in
digested sludge were sampled from four WWTPs namely north the aqueous phase (g/L).
(350.000 equivalent inhabitants, 62.000 m3 /day), south (950.000
equivalent inhabitants, 164.500 m3 /day), east (200.000 equivalent 2.5. Ecotoxicological risk assessment
inhabitants, 40.900 m3 /day) and west (200.000 equivalent inhabi-
tants, 23.150 m3 /day) WWTP sited in Seville city (south of Spain). Ecotoxicological risk assessment was evaluated by means of
Treatments in the studied WWTPs involve pretreatment, primary risk quotient (RQ) values in efuent wastewater, in the receiving
(settling) and secondary (activated sludge) treatments. Fig. 1 shows stream, in digested sludge and in digested-sludge amended soil.
a diagram scheme of wastewater and sludge treatment lines with Risk quotient values are usually expressed as the ratio between
the sampling points marked in bold. Pretreated wastewater is sub- the predicted environmental concentration (PEC), or the measured
jected to settling in primary clariers where primary sludge is environmental concentrations (MEC values) when available, and
obtained. Secondary treatment is based on activated sludge pro- the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC). RQ values lower than
cesses in a biologic reactor and settling in secondary clariers 1 indicate that the compound does not imply a signicant risk to
where secondary sludge is produced. Mixed sludge (a mixture of the environment.
primary and secondary sludge) is then anaerobically digested and PECwater values were estimated from the concentration levels
dehydrated for sludge stabilization. measured (MEC values) in efuent wastewater applying a dilution
Sixteen inuent and efuent samples (four samples from each factor of 100. The dilution factor was estimated from the ow rates
WWTP) were collected from January 2008 to January 2009 in stud- of efuent wastewater and the receiving stream. PECsoil values,
ied WWTPs. Daily-composite samples were obtained by mixing the estimated one year after one sludge-dose application, were calcu-
aliquots collected every hour by an automatic device operating dur- lated applying the Eq. (2) from the European Commission Technical
ing 24 h. Sample volumes collected each hour were proportional Guidance Document on Risk Assessment EUR 20418 EN/2 [16]:
to inuent and efuent ows. A total sample volume of 2.5 L was
Csludge APPLsludge
transferred to amber glass bottles and stored at 4 C until analysis. PECsoil =
DEPTHsoil RHOsoil
Sixteen sludge samples (four samples from each WWTP) were
collected from each sampling point (Fig. 1). Two liters of primary where Csludge is the concentration measured in digested sludge
and secondary sludge and one kilogram of digested sludge and com- expressed as g/kg dm; APPLsludge is the application rate of dry-
post were collected in glass bottles. Sludge samples were rstly sludge onto soils (0.5 kg/m2 year for agricultural soils); DEPTHsoil
decanted and then ltered to remove their water content. Finally, is the mixing depth (0.20 m for agricultural soils) and RHOsoil is the
sludge samples were lyophilized in a Cryodos-50 lyophilizer bulk density of wet soil (1700 kg/m3 for agricultural soils).
42 J. Martn et al. / Journal of Hazardous Materials 239240 (2012) 4047
PNECwater values were calculated from the lowest values of Spain, the total amount of ibuprofen sold per year has been esti-
chronic and acute toxicity data (lethal concentration (LC), effect mated to be about 276 tons, while antibiotics are sold at a lesser
concentration (EC) and non-observed effect concentration (NOEC)) extent, for example, trimethoprim is being sold at 3.7 tons per year
reported in literature to several aquatic organisms: bacteria, algae, [24]. The nervous stimulant caffeine, which not only comes from
invertebrate and sh species [2] by applying an assessment factor of pharmaceuticals but also from coffee consumption, reached con-
1000 to consider the toxicity to other aquatic species more sensitive centration levels up to 8.97 g/L, in inuent wastewater, and up to
than those selected in toxicity studies [16,17]. PNECsolid values were 0.94 g/L in efuent wastewater. The estrogenic compounds were
estimated from PNECwater values because no toxicological data of found at lower concentration with mean values from below the
pharmaceutically active compounds in the terrestrial compartment limits of detection to 0.30 g/L, in inuent wastewater; and from
was found in literature. PNECsolid values were estimated applying below the limits of detection to 0.41 g/L, in efuent wastewa-
the equilibrium partition approach [17]: ter. Alongside wastewater treatment line, the concentrations of
the pharmaceuticals decreased but all the compounds detected in
PNECsolid = PNECwater Kd inuent wastewater were still present in efuent wastewater.
The distribution of the pharmaceutical compounds in sewage
where Kd is the solidwater partition coefcient which takes
sludge is shown in Table 3. The pattern of occurrence of the
into account the two main mechanisms of sorption into sludge:
pharmaceutical compounds in sewage sludge was similar to that
absorption and adsorption [4]. In fate and contaminant transport
observed in wastewater. The highest mean concentrations, in
calculations, Kd is dened by the United States Environmental
the four WWTPs sampled, correspond to ibuprofen (2206 g/kg
Protection Agency as the ratio of the contaminant concentration
dm in primary sludge, 1584 g/kg dm in secondary sludge and
associated with the solid to the contaminant concentration in the
1170 g/kg dm in digested sludge). The other compounds at
surrounding aqueous solution when the system is at equilibrium.
high concentrations in primary sludge were gembrozil, sali-
Kd values from literature [9,12,13,1823] were used (Table 1).
cylic acid and caffeine (mean concentration in primary sludge:
873 g/kg dm, 560 g/kg dm and 446 g/kg dm, respectively).
3. Results and discussion The pharmaceuticals with high log Kow values and low pKa values
as diclofenac, ketoprofen and gembrozil were mainly detected
3.1. Occurrence of the pharmaceutically active compounds in in wastewater instead of in sludge. At wastewater pH, they are
wastewater and sludge mainly in their ionized form and, therefore, present in the aqueous
phase.
The distribution of the pharmaceutical compounds in wastew- The pattern of occurrence of the pharmaceutical compounds in
ater treatment line is shown in Table 2. Gembrozil, ketoprofen, primary sludge was different to that observed in secondary sludge.
naproxen, propranolol and salicylic acid were detected in all of the For example, the pharmaceutical compounds at the highest con-
wastewater samples whereas clobric acid, estrone, sulfamethox- centrations in primary sludge were ibuprofen, gembrozil, salicylic
azole and trimethoprim were not detected in wastewater. The acid and caffeine while, in secondary sludge, the pharmaceutical
anti-inammatory drugs were the compounds at the highest con- compounds at the highest concentrations were carbamazepine,
centration levels, being ibuprofen and salicylic acid the ones at the 17-ethinylestradiol, estriol and propranolol. This fact could be
highest concentration levels with mean values, in the four WWTPs explained by the different physicochemical characteristics of the
sampled, of 32.0 and 27.2 g/L, respectively, in inuent wastew- studied compounds (Table 4) and the different composition of
ater and 4.04 and 1.00 g/L, respectively, in efuent wastewater. primary and secondary sludge, resulting in different sorption
Their high concentrations can be related to their wide use enhanced behaviors. After the anaerobic digestion, the concentration levels
because no medical prescription is necessary for their sale. In of most of the compounds decreased (Table 3). The concentration
J. Martn et al. / Journal of Hazardous Materials 239240 (2012) 4047 43
Table 1
Partition coefcients and ecotoxicological data of the pharmaceutically active compounds.
Log Kd , sludge Log Kd , soil Organism Test Toxicological PNECwater PNECsludge PNECsoil
value (mg/L) (g/L) (g/kg) (g/kg)
Anti-inammatory drugs
Diclofenac 2.70a 2.21b V. scheri (bacteria) EC50 (15 min) 9.70 9.70 4862 1595
Ibuprofen 2.10a 1.45c H. attenuata (invertebrate) EC50 (96 h) 1.65 1.65 1141 256
Ketoprofen 2.40a 0.95d V. scheri (bacteria) EC50 (15 min) 15.6 15.6 3919 140
Naproxen 1.55d 0.95d H. attenuata (invertebrate) EC50 (96 h) 2.62 2.62 752 189
Salicylic acid 1.36d 1.91d V. scheri (bacteria) EC50 (15 min) 43.1 43.1 992 3520
Antibiotics
Sulfametoxazole 1.04d 0.90d P. subcapitata (algae) EC50 (96 h) 0.15 0.15 1.64 1.19
Trimethoprim 1.83d 1.41d D. magna (invertebrate) EC50 (96 h) 121 121 10273 3102
Antiepileptic drug
Carbamazepine 1.15d 1.40d D. magna (invertebrate) EC50 (48 h) 13.8 13.8 195 347
-Blocker
Propranolol 2.52d 1.76d D. subspicatus (algae) EC50 (48 h) 0.70 0.70 232 40.3
Nervous stimulant
Caffeine 2.30a 1.40d Leuciscus Idus (sh) EC50 (96 h) 87.0 87.0 17357 2185
Estrogens
e f
17-Ethinylestradiol 2.46 1.75 S. purpuratus (invertebrate) EC50 0.03 0.03 8.75 1.69
17-Estradiol 2.56e 1.85f S. purpuratus (invertebrate) EC50 0.01 0.01 5.14 0.99
Estriol 2.67g 2.67g S. purpuratus (invertebrate) EC50 1.52 1.52 711 711
Estrone 2.45e 1.40f T. battagliai (invertebrate) LC50 (10 days) 0.10 0.10 28.2 2.51
Lipid regulators
Clobric acid 0.70d 0.95d D. magna (invertebrate) EC50 (48 h) 72.0 72.0 361 642
Gembrozil 1.29h 0.11i H. attenuata (invertebrate) EC50 (96 h) 1.18 1.18 203 13.3
a
Okuda et al. [12].
b
Drillia et al. [18].
c
Stuer-Lauridsen et al. [19].
d
Barron et al. [20].
e
Carballa et al. [9].
f
Sarmah et al. [21].
g
Lpez de Alda et al. [22].
h
Radjenovic et al. [13].
i
Krascsenits et al. [23].
Table 2
Mean concentrations (n = 4) of the analyzed pharmaceutical compounds in inuent and efuent wastewater from each WWTP.
North WWTP South WWTP East WWTP West WWTP North WWTP South WWTP East WWTP West WWTP
Anti-inammatory drugs
Diclofenac 0.72 <LOQ0.099 <LOD0.030 <LOD0.030 0.53 0.74 <LOD0.015 0.09
Ibuprofen 50.6 34.0 12.9 25.6 3.74 1.05 3.2 8.00
Ketoprofen 1.69 1.84 2.11 2.08 0.92 0.89 0.88 0.94
Naproxen 4.09 3.84 3.37 2.54 2.58 0.99 1.15 1.30
Salicylic acid 27.8 33.1 12.6 31.7 0.34 0.17 0.10 3.17
Antibiotics
Sulfamethoxazole <LOD0.017 <LOD0.017 <LOD0.017 <LOD0.017 <LOD0.008 <LOD0.008 <LOD0.008 <LOD0.008
Trimethoprim <LOD0.012 <LOD0.012 <LOD0.012 <LOD0.012 <LOD0.006 <LOD0.006 <LOD0.006 <LOD0.006
Antiepileptic drug
Carbamazepine 0.51 0.14 0.07 0.97 0.06 0.15 0.05 0.14
-Blocker
Propranolol 0.39 0.27 0.20 0.23 0.34 0.37 0.21 0.32
Nervous stimulant
Caffeine 0.89 0.44 0.49 3.28 0.24 0.08 0.37 0.30
Estrogens
17-Ethinylestradiol <LOQ0.067 0.15 0.07 0.18 0.12 0.03 0.04 0.18
17-Estradiol <LOQ0.145 0.19 <LOQ0.145 <LOQ0.145 <LOQ0.072 <LOQ0.072 <LOD0.022 <LOQ0.072
Estriol 0.12 0.83 0.10 0.09 0.59 0.27 0.43 0.37
Estrone <LOD0.323 <LOD0.323 <LOD0.323 <LOD0.323 <LOD0.162 <LOD0.162 <LOD0.162 <LOD0.162
Lipid regulators
Clobric acid <LOD0.001 <LOD0.001 <LOD0.001 <LOD0.001 <LOD0.001 <LOD0.001 <LOD0.001 <LOD0.001
Gembrozil 2.64 1.68 1.23 2.69 3.07 2.47 1.52 2.16
LOD: limit of detection; LOQ: limit of quantication. LOD and LOQ superscripts correspond to LOD and LOQ concentration values [14].
44 J. Martn et al. / Journal of Hazardous Materials 239240 (2012) 4047
Table 3
Mean concentrations (n = 4) of the analyzed pharmaceutical compounds in primary, secondary and digested sludge from each WWTP.
N-WWTP S-WWTP E-WWTP W-WWTP N-WWTP S-WWTP E-WWTP W-WWTP N-WWTP S-WWTP E-WWTP W-WWTP
Anti-inammatory drugs
Diclofenac <LOD33.1 <LOD33.1 <LOD33.1 <LOD33.1 <LOD19.3 <LOD19.3 <LOD19.3 <LOD19.3 <LOD1.22 <LOD1.22 <LOD1.22 <LOD1.22
Ibuprofen 2988 1425 2728 1683 1889 687 3237 524 1020 1274 1262 1124
Ketoprofen <LOD6.18 <LOD6.18 <LOD6.18 <LOD6.18 24.8 <LOD3.79 66.6 24.0 <LOD3.48 <LOD3.48 <LOD3.48 <LOD3.48
Naproxen 40.1 66.6 72.2 23.8 41.4 34.3 32.9 50.4 <LOQ7.53 <LOQ7.53 <LOD2.38 <LOQ7.53
Salicylic acid 389 931 503 419 140 131 51.9 94.3 48.0 14.9 12.8 16.0
Antibiotics
Sulfamethoxazole <LOD8.87 <LOD8.87 <LOD8.87 <LOD8.87 <LOD10.4 <LOD10.4 <LOD10.4 <LOD10.4 <LOD47.2 <LOD47.2 <LOD47.2 <LOD47.2
Trimethoprim <LOD53.2 <LOD53.2 <LOD53.2 <LOD53.2 <LOD81.8 <LOD81.8 <LOD81.8 <LOD81.8 <LOD24.6 <LOD24.6 <LOD24.6 <LOD24.6
Antiepileptic drug
Carbamazepine 20.3 30.3 <LOQ14.8 66.6 259 262 231 460 28.4 18.5 30.8 18.4
-Blocker
Propranolol <LOD1.60 <LOD1.60 <LOD1.60 <LOD1.60 8.58 13.9 32.5 26.6 <LOD1.26 <LOQ2.51 <LOD1.26 <LOD1.26
Nervous stimulant
Caffeine 674 527 401 183 <LOD20.4 <LOD20.4 <LOD20.4 <LOD20.4 <LOQ45.4 <LOQ45.4 <LOQ45.4 116
Estrogens
17- 46.8 28.5 33.0 52.7 105 103 23.8 160 56.8 70.5 19.8 60.2
Ethinylestradiol
17-Estradiol 17.1 7.69 11.4 25.4 20.5 23.8 16.6 38.0 836 120 116 102
Estriol 8.53 7.93 4.03 12.3 <LOD3.09 60.8 68.0 23.4 35.2 4.03 2.18 4.62
Estrone <LOD10.1 <LOD10.1 <LOD10.1 <LOD10.1 <LOD7.68 <LOD7.68 <LOD7.68 <LOD7.68 <LOD4.95 <LOD4.95 <LOD4.95 <LOD4.95
Lipid regulators
Clobric acid <LOD32.9 <LOD32.9 <LOD32.9 <LOD32.9 <LOD36.4 <LOD36.4 <LOD36.4 <LOD36.4 <LOD38.1 <LOD38.1 <LOD38.1 <LOD38.1
Gembrozil 1099 <LOQ360 2026 <LOQ360 <LOQ350 356 <LOQ350 <LOQ350 <LOD79.8 <LOD79.8 <LOD79.8 <LOD79.8
N-WWTP: north WWTP, S-WWTP: south WWTP, E-WWTP: east WWTP, W-WWTP: west WWTP.
LOD and LOQ superscripts correspond to LOD and LOQ concentration values.
of 17-estradiol increased after digestion, mean values, in the four pharmaceutical compounds to enter the food chain being trans-
WWTPs sampled, from 15 g/kg dm in primary sludge to 294 g/kg ferred from soil to plants via root systems when wastewater is
dm in digested sludge. This fact could be explained by the cleavage employed to irrigate agricultural soils or sludge is used as fertil-
of conjugated steroid estrogens [2527] and by the concentra- izer. Such uptake by plants has been reported for carbamazepine
tion that undergo persistent pollutants due to the loss of weight [28,29], sulfamethoxazole [28], trimetroprim [28], ibuprofen [30]
of sludge after digestion process. There is also a possibility of and 17-ethynilestradiol [31].
Table 4
Physicochemical properties (log Kow and pKa values) and calculated log Kd values of the pharmaceutically active compounds.
Anti-inammatory drugs
Diclofenac 4.8 4.1
Ibuprofen 4.5 4.95.7 1.77 1.62 2.33 1.82 2.70 2.82 3.01 1.82
Ketoprofen 4.0 4.55.7 1.43 1.88 1.41
Naproxen 3.2 4.2 0.99 1.24 1.33 0.97 1.21 1.54 1.46 1.59
Salicylic acid 2.3 3.5 1.15 1.45 1.60 1.12 2.61 2.89 2.72 1.47
Antibiotics
Sulfamethoxazole 0.9 5.66.7
Trimethoprim 1.4 6.6
Antiepileptic drug
Carbamazepine 2.4 13.9 1.60 2.34 1.84 3.64 3.24 3.66 3.52
-Blocker
Propranolol 0.7 9.5 1.40 1.57 2.19 1.92
Nervous stimulant
Caffeine 0.1 10.4 2.88 3.08 2.91 1.75
Estrogens
17- 4.2 10.410.7 2.28 2.67 2.47 2.94 3.54 2.77 2.95
Ethinylestradiol
17-Estradiol 4.0 10.4 1.61
Estriol 2.8 9.8 1.85 0.98 1.61 2.14 2.35 2.20 1.80
Estrone 4.1 10.4
Lipid regulators
Clobric acid 2.6 2.53.2
Gembrozil 4.8 4.7 2.62 3.22 2.16
: Compound not detected; N-WWTP: north WWTP; S-WWTP: south WWTP; E-WWTP: east WWTP; W-WWTP: west WWTP.
J. Martn et al. / Journal of Hazardous Materials 239240 (2012) 4047 45
Fig. 2. Mean removal efciencies (%) of the investigated pharmaceutical compounds. Lines in each bar show maximum and minimum removal values. (Aep: antiepileptic
drug; -Bl: -blocker; Ns: nervous stimulant; Lrg: lipid regulator.)
3.2. Solidwater partition coefcients, Kd to be mainly in the aqueous phase. Their removal from wastew-
ater could be explained by biodegradation instead of by sorption
Kd values, in primary sludge and secondary sludge, calculated onto sludge. This fact is consistent with that reported by sev-
from experimental concentrations measured in wastewater and eral authors [6,33,34] who propose biodegradation as the most
sludge are shown in Table 4. Log Kd values in secondary sludge were probable mechanism for their removal. Diclofenac was the anti-
higher than those in primary sludge. This fact, depending on the inammatory drug poorest removed, mean removal rate: 14%. The
physicochemical properties of the compound (log Kow and pKa val- poor removal of diclofenac can be probably due to the combination
ues), can be due to a better sorption onto secondary sludge than of degradation in wastewater together with the liberation of addi-
onto primary sludge or to a fast biodegradation. The acidic com- tional diclofenac molecules by de-conjugation of glucoronidated
pounds, characterized by low pKa values, are expected to have low or sulfated diclofenac and/or its desorption from particles [7].
log Kd values because at wastewater pH they are mainly in their Similar poor removal rates (<16%) were observed for the lipid reg-
ionized form and, consequently, mainly dissolved in the aqueous ulator gembrozil and the -blocker propranolol. Carbamazepine
phase. Nevertheless, log Kd values of the anti-inammatory drugs, is a pharmaceutical compound with a high chemical stability to
all of them with carboxylic groups, are just slightly lower, in pri- the point that has been proposed as a anthropogenic marker
mary sludge, and similar, in secondary sludge, than those of the [5,6]. Therefore, the removal of carbamazepine from wastewater
other pharmaceutical compounds with no carboxylic group. The could be explained by sorption onto sludge due to its hydrophilic
unexpectedly high log Kd values of the anti-inammatory drugs nature (log Kow : 2.4). Elimination rates of caffeine vary signi-
cannot be associated to a high potential of sorption onto sludge cantly, not only from one WWTP to another, but also in the same
but to a fast biodegradation that reduce the measured concentra- WWTP at different time periods what can be associated to its
tions in the aqueous phase. The same phenomenon was reported, temporal-conditioned consume. The low polarity of the estrogenic
for the anti-inammatory drug acetaminophen, by Radjenovic et al. compounds, characterized by log Kow values between 2.8 and 4.2
[13]. The high log Kd values of carbamazepine, 17-ethinylestradiol (Table 4), makes sorption onto sludge to be the most likely process
and estriol indicate that the compounds tend to be retained onto responsible for their removal from wastewater (17-estradiol: 55%,
sludge which is consistent with their high pKa values. This fact is in 17-ethinylestradiol: 47% and estriol: 26%) [35].
agreement with that reported in the literature [8,9,20,32].
Fig. 3. Risk quotient (RQ) values of the pharmaceutical compounds in efuent wastewater, the receiving stream, digested sludge and digested-sludge amended soil. (Aep:
antiepileptic drug; -Bl: -blocker; Ns: nervous stimulant; Lrg: lipid regulator.)
the other pharmaceutical compounds varied between 0.01 and 0.7 compounds were diclofenac, propranolol, estriol and gembrozil.
in efuent wastewater and 0.020.26 in digested sludge so no risk The best removed compounds were ibuprofen and salycilic acid. In
is suspected to occur in these two scenarios. sludge line, different behavior of the pharmaceutical compounds
The dilution effect that takes place after the discharge of efuent was observed as well. The concentrations of some compounds
wastewater into the receiving stream results in a decrease of the as naproxen and salicylic acid decrease from primary sludge to
concentrations of the pharmaceutical compounds. The concentra- digested sludge; the concentrations of other compounds as 17-
tions of all the pharmaceutical compounds in the receiving stream estradiol, increase; and the concentration of the other compounds
were low enough that no risk to aquatic organisms is suspected as 17-ethinylestradiol and estriol, do not vary signicantly. The
to occur. All the RQ values were lower than 1 (Fig. 3). Therefore, concentrations measured in sludge indicate that sorption can be
acute toxic effect in the aquatic environment, with the current use one of the key factors controlling the removal of pharmaceutical
of pharmaceutical compounds, is unlikely. However, toxic effects compounds. The removal of the anti-inammatory drugs and the
due to chronic environmental exposure, mainly by aquatic species lipid regulator gembrozil cannot be explained by sorption onto
with a long-life cycle, could still be present. In a previous paper [2], sludge but by biodegradation in the aqueous phase. Environmental
the occurrence and risk assessment of the presence of the phar- risk assessment revealed a high ecotoxicological risk due to ibupro-
maceutical compounds in Guadalquivir River were reported. The fen, 17-ethinylestradiol and 17-estradiol both for aquatic and
results provided in the present paper shows that the low RQ val- terrestrial ecosystems. After disposal of wastewater in the receiv-
ues estimated in the previous paper are due to the dilution effect ing stream and sludge disposal onto soils, a signicant decrease
of wastewater discharges into the receiving stream. Regarding to of the ecotoxicological risk occurs. Nevertheless, RQ value of 17-
sludge samples, after sludge application onto soil, a drastic decrease estradiol in digested-sludge amended soil is high enough to cause
of RQ values was observed. The only toxicological effect expected is ecotoxicological risk to the most sensitive species in the terrestrial
the one caused by 17-estradiol since the RQ value of 17-estradiol ecosystem. The results obtained shown the necessity to improve
exceeds the limit value of 1 for the most sensitive species (RQ value: wastewater treatments to reduce the input of pharmaceutical com-
2.7). This fact means that an ecotoxicological risk is still present pounds in surface water and soils. Special attention should be paid
to terrestrial ecosystems in spite of the important decrease of the to the presence of ibuprofen and the estrogenic compounds in
concentration of 17-estradiol from digested sludge to digested- digested sludge mainly when sludge is used as fertilizer onto agri-
sludge amended soil. cultural soils because they could even enter in the food chain after
the uptake of the pharmaceuticals by plants.
4. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
The highest concentrations in wastewater and sludge were
observed for the anti-inammatory drugs ibuprofen and salicylic The authors wish to thank the nancial support received
acid. The pharmaceutical compounds detected in wastewater were from the Ministerio de Educacin y Ciencia, Spain (project no.
also detected in sludge, except diclofenac which was only detected CGL2007-62281) and from the Programa de Becas de Formacin
in wastewater. In wastewater treatment line, the most persistent de Profesorado Universitario (Ministerio de Educacin, Spain).
J. Martn et al. / Journal of Hazardous Materials 239240 (2012) 4047 47