BIOTRANSFORMATION AND CHLORINATION OF PHARMACEUTICALS AND THEIR BY-PRODUCTS DURING WASTEWATER TREATMENT

摘要

The introduction of pharmaceuticals and personal care products into the environment via discharges from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has been widely documented (e.g., Batt et al., 2006; Ternes et al., 1999). Many pharmaceuticals are transformed only partially in humans and, thus, are excreted as a mixture of metabolites and bioactive forms into WWTPs where they may undergo biological, chemical and/or physical treatment processes. While some of these microconstituents may be removed during treatment, others pass through the process with little or no removal depending on the design and conditions employed in the WWTPs. Hence, the removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in wastewater has become of great interest in recent years because of their potential to pose long-term ecological risks (Sumpter and Johnson, 2006) and also because of the increased demands for water reuse in many places worldwide.