Exploration of the effect of simultaneous removal of EDCs in the treatment process of different types of wastewater

Abstract

The SPE-HPLC-MS/MS method was used to investigate the concentration distribution of nine types of estrogens in 18 locations of pollution source along the Jiuzhou River belonging to river systems in Guangdong province and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in China, and the estrogenic activity and potential ecological risks were evaluated by calculating the estradiol equivalency (EEQ). The results showed that the calculated estradiol equivalents (cEEQs) of wastewater treatment plants from 17 locations were all higher than 1 ng/L. To further study the removal effect of the treatment process on the estrogens, the pig breeding wastewater from P4 and the municipal wastewater from P13, as well as the black-odorous water, were sampled and surveyed during the entire process. It turned out that estrogens were effectively removed after nitrification activated sludge treatment. Meanwhile, there was a positive correlation between the removal of NH3-N, total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) and the removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). It is shown in the study the secondary treatment process has achieved a significant effect on the removal of estrogen in both the wet and dry periods and that there has been a positive correlation between the activities of total phosphorus compounds, nitrogen-based compounds and the removal of EDCs.