An integrated approach to MS-based identification and risk assessment of pharmaceutical biotransformation in wastewater.

The omnipresence of pharmaceuticals at relatively high concentrations (μg/L) in environmental compartments indicated their inadequate removal by wastewater treatment plants. As such, batch reactors seeded with activated sludge were set up to assess the biotransformation of metformin, ranitidine, lidocaine and atorvastatin. The main objective was to identify transformation products (TPs) through the establishment of an integrated workflow for suspect and non-target screening based on reversed phase liquid chromatography quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Investigation of Biotransformation Products of -Methoxymethylamphetamine and Dihydromephedrone in Wastewater by High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

There is a paucity of information on biotransformation and stability of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in wastewater. Moreover, the fate of NPS and their transformation products (TPs) in wastewater treatment plants is not well understood. In this study, batch reactors seeded with activated sludge were set up to evaluate biotic, abiotic, and sorption losses of -methoxymethylamphetamine (PMMA) and dihydromephedrone (DHM) and identify TPs formed during these processes.

Identification of biotransformation products of citalopram formed in activated sludge.

Citalopram (CTR) is a worldwide highly consumed antidepressant which has demonstrated incomplete removal by conventional wastewater treatment. Despite its global ubiquitous presence in different environmental compartments, little is known about its behaviour and transformation processes during wastewater treatment. The present study aims to expand the knowledge on fate and transformation of CTR during the biological treatment process.

Hybrid Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor for the biodegradation of benzotriazoles and hydroxy-benzothiazole in wastewater.

A laboratory scale Hybrid Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (HMBBR) was used to study the removal of five benzotriazoles and one benzothiazole from municipal wastewater. The HMBBR system consisted of two serially connected fully aerated bioreactors that contained activated sludge (AS) and K3-biocarriers and a settling tank. The average removal of target compounds ranged between 41% (4-methyl-1H-benzotriazole; 4TTR) and 88% (2-hydroxybenzothiazole; OHBTH).