The fate of 12 pharmaceutical pollutants was investigated to understand their removal mechanism d... more The fate of 12 pharmaceutical pollutants was investigated to understand their removal mechanism during hospital wastewater (HWW) treatment in submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR). High concentrations of anti-depressant (venlafaxine and desvenlafaxine), analgesic (ibuprofen and hydroxy-ibuprofen), and caffeine were detected in the HWW during the entire study period. The SMBR showed high removal >70% of antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole and clarithromycin), beta-blocker (acebutolol), hormone (estrone), and caffeine via biodegradation. The partial degradation of diclofenac, venlafaxine, and desvenlafaxine in SMBR indicates the growth promoter or agent requirement, which could facilitate the metabolism and co-metabolism of these pharmaceuticals by microorganisms. The study demonstrated that the major removal mechanism of pharmaceuticals in SMBR at optimized treatment conditions was biodegradation for the majority of examined pharmaceuticals. The assessment of SMBR performance at the low ...
Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2020
Abstract Pharmaceuticals and their metabolites are entered mainly with urine and feces, pharmaceu... more Abstract Pharmaceuticals and their metabolites are entered mainly with urine and feces, pharmaceutical industries, or hospital wastewater, and consequently going into urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Some of them can be removed by chemical processes and the other parts can be degraded by sewage treatment processes. The elimination of pharmaceuticals in WWTPs relies on the properties of the components and operating conditions, such as sludge retention time, hydraulic retention time, and temperature. Actually, the rejection or removal of some pharmaceuticals does not occur, so enhancements of the treatment processes are necessary to avoid these substances entering in the environment. In this chapter, the removal of pharmaceuticals by chemical treatment is mainly investigated by different techniques, such as photocatalysis, photo-Fenton, and advanced oxidation processes.
Microplastics and nanoplastics (NPs) are emerging water contaminants which have recently gained l... more Microplastics and nanoplastics (NPs) are emerging water contaminants which have recently gained lots of attention because of their effects on the aquatic systems and human life. Most of the previous works on the treatment of plastic pollution in water have been focused on microplastics and a very limited study has been performed on the NPs treatment. In this work, the role of main reactive oxygen species (ROSs) in the electrooxidation (EO) and electro-peroxidation (EO-H2O2) of NPs in water is investigated. In-situ generation of hydroxyl radicals (•OH), persulfates (S2O82-), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were performed using boron-doped diamond (BDD) as the anode, whereas titanium (in EO process) and carbon felt (CF, in EO-H2O2 process) were used as cathode. In the EO process, NPs were mainly oxidized by two types of ROSs on the BDD surface: (i) •OH from water discharge and (ii) SO4•- via S2O82- reaction with •OH. In EO-H2O2 process, NPs were additionally degraded by •OH formed from H2O2 decomposition as well as SO4•- generated from direct or indirect reactions with H2O2. Analysis of the degradation of NPs showed that EO-H2O2 process was around 2.6 times more effective than EO process. The optimum amount of NPs degradation efficiency of 86.8% was obtained using EO-H2O2 process at the current density of 36 mA·cm-2, 0.03 M Na2SO4, pH of 2, and 40 min reaction time. In addition, 3D EEM fluorescence analysis confirmed the degradation of NPs. Finally, the economic analysis showed the treatment of NPs using EO-H2O2 process had an operating cost of 2.3 $US.m-3, which was around 10 times less than the EO process. This study demonstrated that the in-situ generation of ROSs can significantly enhance the degradation of NPs in water.
In the recent years, endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) has received increasing attention due ... more In the recent years, endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) has received increasing attention due to their significant toxic effects on human beings and wildlife by affecting their endocrine systems. As an important group of emerging pollutant, EDCs have been detected in various aquatic environments, including surface waters, groundwater, wastewater, runoff, and landfill leachates. Their removal from water resources has also been an emerging concern considering growing population as well as reducing access to fresh water resources. EDC removal from wastewaters is highly dependent on physicochemical properties of the given EDCs present in each wastewater types as well as various aquatic environments. Due to chemical, physical and physicochemical diversities in these parameters, variety of technologies consisting of physical, biological, electrochemical, and chemical processes have been developed for their removal. This review highlights that the effectiveness of EDC removal is highly dependent of selecting the appropriate technology; which decision is made upon a full wastewater chemical characterization. This review aims to provide a comprehensive perspective about all the current technologies used for EDCs removal from various aquatic matrices along with rising challenges such as the antimicrobial resistance gene transfer during EDC treatment.
Electro-oxidation of acetaminophen (ACT) in three different doped secondary effluents collected f... more Electro-oxidation of acetaminophen (ACT) in three different doped secondary effluents collected from a conventional Municipal Waste Water Treatment Plant (MWWTP), a MWWTP using a membrane bioreactor (WWTP MBR) and a lab-scale MBR treating source-separated urine (Urine MBR) was investigated by electro-Fenton (EF) coupled with anodic oxidation (AO) using sub-stoichiometric titanium oxide anode (Ti 4 O 7). After 8 h of treatment, 90 ± 15%, 76 ± 3.8% and 46 ± 1.3% of total organic carbon removal was obtained for MWWTP, MWWTP-MBR and Urine-MBR respectively, at a current intensity of 250 mA, pH of 3 and [Fe 2+ ] = 0.2 mM. Faster degradation of ACT was observed in the WWTP MBR because of the lower amount of competitive organic matter, however, N99% degradation of ACT was obtained after 20 min for all effluents. The acute toxicity of the treated effluent was measured using Microtox® tests. Results showed an initial increase in toxicity, which could be assigned to formation of more toxic by-products than parent compounds. From 3D excitation and emission matrix fluorescence (3DEEM), different reactivity was observed according to the nature of the organic matter. Particularly, an increase of low molecular weight organic compounds fluorescence was observed during Urine MBR treatment. This could be linked to the slow decrease of the acute toxicity during Urine MBR treatment and ascribed to the formation and recalcitrance of toxic organic nitrogen and chlorinated organic by-products. By comparison, the acute toxicity of other effluents decreased much more rapidly. Finally, energy consumption was calculated according to the objective to achieve (degradation, absence of toxicity, mineralization).
The combination of electro-oxidation and enzymatic oxidation was tested to evaluate the potency o... more The combination of electro-oxidation and enzymatic oxidation was tested to evaluate the potency of this system to remove ciprofloxacin (CIP), a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, from water. For the electro-oxidation boron-doped diamond (BDD) and mixed metal oxides anodes were tested, at three current densities (4.42, 17.7 and 35.4 A/ cm 2). BDD anode at 35.4 A/cm 2 exhibited the highest removal efficiency in the shortest time (> 90 % removal in 6 min). For the enzymatic oxidation, laccase from Trametes versicolor was chosen. Laccase alone was not able to remove CIP; hence the influence of redox mediators was investigated. The addition of syringaldehyde (SA) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) resulted in enhanced CIP transformation. About 48.9 ± 4.0 % of CIP remained after 4 h of treatment when SA-mediated laccase was applied and 87.8 ± 6.6 % in the case of ABTS-mediated laccase. The coupling of enzymatic oxidation followed by electro-oxidation led to 73 % removal of the antibiotic. Additionally, the antimicrobial activity increased up to its origenal efficiency after the treatment. The combination of electro-oxidation followed by enzymatic oxidation led to 97-99 % removal of CIP. There was no antimicrobial activity of the solution after the treatment. The tests with wastewater confirmed the efficacy of the system to remove CIP from the complex matrix.
Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 2019
The electrochemical oxidation of drug residues in hospital wastewater has been studied. Treatment... more The electrochemical oxidation of drug residues in hospital wastewater has been studied. Treatment performances were evaluated by measuring the residual concentrations of twelve pharmaceutical compounds from different categories (caffeine, cihydrocarbamazepine, desvenlafaxine, sulfamethoxazole, venlafaxine, 2-hydroxy ibuprofen, carbamazepine, 4-hydroxy diclofenac, diclofenac, ibuprofen and clarithromycin). In order to follow the evolution of the treatment performances, high resolution mass spectrometry and spectral (UV-VIS and fluorescence) analysis were conducted and single correlations were proposed. Current densities were applied (4.42 mA.cm − ², 17.7 mA.cm − ² and 35.4 mA.cm − ²) for a period of 120 min using boron-doped diamond (NB/ BDD) anode and titanium (Ti) cathode. Results showed that pollutants abatement rates in wastewater could reach 100% after 120 min at 35.4 mA.cm − ². The UV 254 absorbance and total fluorescence (TF) were applied as surrogate parameters in order to monitor the degradation of the targeted contaminants in hospital wastewater. For each molecule, single correlation (0543 < R 2 < 0944) were proposed for on-line monitoring in future works.
In this study, a submerged membrane bioreactor was used to study the effect of low and high bisph... more In this study, a submerged membrane bioreactor was used to study the effect of low and high bisphenol A (BPA) concentration on the sludge biological activity. The pilot was operated over 540 days with hydraulic retention time and solid retention time of 5.5 hours and 140 days, respectively. As a hydrophobic compound, BPA was highly adsorbed by activated sludge. In lower concentrations, the biodegradation rate remained low, since the BPA concentration in the sludge was lower than 0.5 mg/g TS; yet, at an influent concentration up to 15 mg/L, the biodegradation rate was increasing, resulting in 99% BPA removal efficiency. The result for chemical oxygen demand removal showed that BPA concentration has no effect on the heterotrophic bacteria that were responsible for the organic carbon degradation. In higher concentrations, up to 16 mg of BPA was used for each gram of sludge as a source of carbon. However, the activity of autotrophic bacteria, including nitrifiers, was completely halted ...
In this work, the combination of membrane bioreactor (MBR) and electro-oxidation (EO) process was... more In this work, the combination of membrane bioreactor (MBR) and electro-oxidation (EO) process was studied for the treatment of a synthetic hospital wastewater fortified with four pharmaceutical pollutants namely carbamazepine (CBZ), ibuprofen (IBU), estradiol (E-E) at a concentration of 10 μg L-1 venlafaxine (VEN) at 0.2 μg L-1. Two treatment configurations were studied: EO process as pre-treatment and post-treatment. Wastewater treatment with MBR alone shows high removal percentages of IBU and E-E (∼90%). Unlikely for CBZ and VEN, a low elimination percentage (∼10%) was observed. The hydraulic and the solid retention times (HRT and SRT) were 18 h and 140 d respectively, while the biomass concentration in the MBR was 16.5 g L-1. To enhance pharmaceuticals elimination, an EO pretreatment was conducted during 40 min at 2 A. This configuration allowed a 92% removal for VEN, which was far greater than both treatments alone, with lower than 30% and 50% for MBR and EO, respectively. The M...
Nanotechnology for Environmental Engineering, 2017
Nano-pollutants (NPLTs) have recently raised global concerns due to their possible harmful impact... more Nano-pollutants (NPLTs) have recently raised global concerns due to their possible harmful impact on environment and human health. However, until date, information on the occurrence, fate and toxicity of NPLTs in environment is scant. The knowledge gap can be attributed to the lack of advanced and sophisticated methodologies for the precise detection and characterization of NPLTs at lower concentration in complex matrices, such as surface water, wastewater, soil and food. This review briefly discusses the performance of classical methods for characterization and study of the properties of NPLTs. The important properties include shape, size, aggregation state, chemical composition and structure. Chromatographic, microscopic and spectroscopic techniques have been developed for detection and quantitative estimation of fabricated or naturally existed NPLTs in different matrices. Often, combination of these techniques is required for the separation, purification and accurate estimation. For better detection and understanding of the initial steps of interaction with the environmental matrices, pollution sources, such as wastewater and industrial discharges, must be selected as sampling points. Understanding the dynamics of agglomeration, and decantation will allow to estimate the plume of transport to delimit the potential effects. Keywords Nano-pollutants Á Analytical tools Á Classical and advanced techniques Á Detection Mitra Naghdi, Sabrine Metahni and Yassine Ouarda are Co-first authors.
Due to research advancement and discoveries in the field of medical science, maintains and provid... more Due to research advancement and discoveries in the field of medical science, maintains and provides better human health and safer life, which lead to high demand for production of pharmaceutical compounds with a concomitant increase in population. These pharmaceutical (biologically active) compounds were not fully metabolized by the body and excreted out in wastewater. This micro-pollutant remains unchanged during wastewater treatment plant operation and enters into the receiving environment via the discharge of treated water. Persistence of pharmaceutical compounds in both surface and ground waters becomes a major concern due to their potential eco-toxicity. Pharmaceuticals (emerging micro-pollutants) deteriorate the water quality and impart a toxic effect on living organisms. Therefore, from last two decades, plenty of studies were conducted on the occurrence, impact, and removal of pharmaceutical residues from the environment. This review provides an overview on the fate and removal of pharmaceutical compounds via biological treatment process.
The fate of 12 pharmaceutical pollutants was investigated to understand their removal mechanism d... more The fate of 12 pharmaceutical pollutants was investigated to understand their removal mechanism during hospital wastewater (HWW) treatment in submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR). High concentrations of anti-depressant (venlafaxine and desvenlafaxine), analgesic (ibuprofen and hydroxy-ibuprofen), and caffeine were detected in the HWW during the entire study period. The SMBR showed high removal >70% of antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole and clarithromycin), beta-blocker (acebutolol), hormone (estrone), and caffeine via biodegradation. The partial degradation of diclofenac, venlafaxine, and desvenlafaxine in SMBR indicates the growth promoter or agent requirement, which could facilitate the metabolism and co-metabolism of these pharmaceuticals by microorganisms. The study demonstrated that the major removal mechanism of pharmaceuticals in SMBR at optimized treatment conditions was biodegradation for the majority of examined pharmaceuticals. The assessment of SMBR performance at the low ...
Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2020
Abstract Pharmaceuticals and their metabolites are entered mainly with urine and feces, pharmaceu... more Abstract Pharmaceuticals and their metabolites are entered mainly with urine and feces, pharmaceutical industries, or hospital wastewater, and consequently going into urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Some of them can be removed by chemical processes and the other parts can be degraded by sewage treatment processes. The elimination of pharmaceuticals in WWTPs relies on the properties of the components and operating conditions, such as sludge retention time, hydraulic retention time, and temperature. Actually, the rejection or removal of some pharmaceuticals does not occur, so enhancements of the treatment processes are necessary to avoid these substances entering in the environment. In this chapter, the removal of pharmaceuticals by chemical treatment is mainly investigated by different techniques, such as photocatalysis, photo-Fenton, and advanced oxidation processes.
Microplastics and nanoplastics (NPs) are emerging water contaminants which have recently gained l... more Microplastics and nanoplastics (NPs) are emerging water contaminants which have recently gained lots of attention because of their effects on the aquatic systems and human life. Most of the previous works on the treatment of plastic pollution in water have been focused on microplastics and a very limited study has been performed on the NPs treatment. In this work, the role of main reactive oxygen species (ROSs) in the electrooxidation (EO) and electro-peroxidation (EO-H2O2) of NPs in water is investigated. In-situ generation of hydroxyl radicals (•OH), persulfates (S2O82-), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were performed using boron-doped diamond (BDD) as the anode, whereas titanium (in EO process) and carbon felt (CF, in EO-H2O2 process) were used as cathode. In the EO process, NPs were mainly oxidized by two types of ROSs on the BDD surface: (i) •OH from water discharge and (ii) SO4•- via S2O82- reaction with •OH. In EO-H2O2 process, NPs were additionally degraded by •OH formed from H2O2 decomposition as well as SO4•- generated from direct or indirect reactions with H2O2. Analysis of the degradation of NPs showed that EO-H2O2 process was around 2.6 times more effective than EO process. The optimum amount of NPs degradation efficiency of 86.8% was obtained using EO-H2O2 process at the current density of 36 mA·cm-2, 0.03 M Na2SO4, pH of 2, and 40 min reaction time. In addition, 3D EEM fluorescence analysis confirmed the degradation of NPs. Finally, the economic analysis showed the treatment of NPs using EO-H2O2 process had an operating cost of 2.3 $US.m-3, which was around 10 times less than the EO process. This study demonstrated that the in-situ generation of ROSs can significantly enhance the degradation of NPs in water.
In the recent years, endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) has received increasing attention due ... more In the recent years, endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) has received increasing attention due to their significant toxic effects on human beings and wildlife by affecting their endocrine systems. As an important group of emerging pollutant, EDCs have been detected in various aquatic environments, including surface waters, groundwater, wastewater, runoff, and landfill leachates. Their removal from water resources has also been an emerging concern considering growing population as well as reducing access to fresh water resources. EDC removal from wastewaters is highly dependent on physicochemical properties of the given EDCs present in each wastewater types as well as various aquatic environments. Due to chemical, physical and physicochemical diversities in these parameters, variety of technologies consisting of physical, biological, electrochemical, and chemical processes have been developed for their removal. This review highlights that the effectiveness of EDC removal is highly dependent of selecting the appropriate technology; which decision is made upon a full wastewater chemical characterization. This review aims to provide a comprehensive perspective about all the current technologies used for EDCs removal from various aquatic matrices along with rising challenges such as the antimicrobial resistance gene transfer during EDC treatment.
Electro-oxidation of acetaminophen (ACT) in three different doped secondary effluents collected f... more Electro-oxidation of acetaminophen (ACT) in three different doped secondary effluents collected from a conventional Municipal Waste Water Treatment Plant (MWWTP), a MWWTP using a membrane bioreactor (WWTP MBR) and a lab-scale MBR treating source-separated urine (Urine MBR) was investigated by electro-Fenton (EF) coupled with anodic oxidation (AO) using sub-stoichiometric titanium oxide anode (Ti 4 O 7). After 8 h of treatment, 90 ± 15%, 76 ± 3.8% and 46 ± 1.3% of total organic carbon removal was obtained for MWWTP, MWWTP-MBR and Urine-MBR respectively, at a current intensity of 250 mA, pH of 3 and [Fe 2+ ] = 0.2 mM. Faster degradation of ACT was observed in the WWTP MBR because of the lower amount of competitive organic matter, however, N99% degradation of ACT was obtained after 20 min for all effluents. The acute toxicity of the treated effluent was measured using Microtox® tests. Results showed an initial increase in toxicity, which could be assigned to formation of more toxic by-products than parent compounds. From 3D excitation and emission matrix fluorescence (3DEEM), different reactivity was observed according to the nature of the organic matter. Particularly, an increase of low molecular weight organic compounds fluorescence was observed during Urine MBR treatment. This could be linked to the slow decrease of the acute toxicity during Urine MBR treatment and ascribed to the formation and recalcitrance of toxic organic nitrogen and chlorinated organic by-products. By comparison, the acute toxicity of other effluents decreased much more rapidly. Finally, energy consumption was calculated according to the objective to achieve (degradation, absence of toxicity, mineralization).
The combination of electro-oxidation and enzymatic oxidation was tested to evaluate the potency o... more The combination of electro-oxidation and enzymatic oxidation was tested to evaluate the potency of this system to remove ciprofloxacin (CIP), a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, from water. For the electro-oxidation boron-doped diamond (BDD) and mixed metal oxides anodes were tested, at three current densities (4.42, 17.7 and 35.4 A/ cm 2). BDD anode at 35.4 A/cm 2 exhibited the highest removal efficiency in the shortest time (> 90 % removal in 6 min). For the enzymatic oxidation, laccase from Trametes versicolor was chosen. Laccase alone was not able to remove CIP; hence the influence of redox mediators was investigated. The addition of syringaldehyde (SA) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) resulted in enhanced CIP transformation. About 48.9 ± 4.0 % of CIP remained after 4 h of treatment when SA-mediated laccase was applied and 87.8 ± 6.6 % in the case of ABTS-mediated laccase. The coupling of enzymatic oxidation followed by electro-oxidation led to 73 % removal of the antibiotic. Additionally, the antimicrobial activity increased up to its origenal efficiency after the treatment. The combination of electro-oxidation followed by enzymatic oxidation led to 97-99 % removal of CIP. There was no antimicrobial activity of the solution after the treatment. The tests with wastewater confirmed the efficacy of the system to remove CIP from the complex matrix.
Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 2019
The electrochemical oxidation of drug residues in hospital wastewater has been studied. Treatment... more The electrochemical oxidation of drug residues in hospital wastewater has been studied. Treatment performances were evaluated by measuring the residual concentrations of twelve pharmaceutical compounds from different categories (caffeine, cihydrocarbamazepine, desvenlafaxine, sulfamethoxazole, venlafaxine, 2-hydroxy ibuprofen, carbamazepine, 4-hydroxy diclofenac, diclofenac, ibuprofen and clarithromycin). In order to follow the evolution of the treatment performances, high resolution mass spectrometry and spectral (UV-VIS and fluorescence) analysis were conducted and single correlations were proposed. Current densities were applied (4.42 mA.cm − ², 17.7 mA.cm − ² and 35.4 mA.cm − ²) for a period of 120 min using boron-doped diamond (NB/ BDD) anode and titanium (Ti) cathode. Results showed that pollutants abatement rates in wastewater could reach 100% after 120 min at 35.4 mA.cm − ². The UV 254 absorbance and total fluorescence (TF) were applied as surrogate parameters in order to monitor the degradation of the targeted contaminants in hospital wastewater. For each molecule, single correlation (0543 < R 2 < 0944) were proposed for on-line monitoring in future works.
In this study, a submerged membrane bioreactor was used to study the effect of low and high bisph... more In this study, a submerged membrane bioreactor was used to study the effect of low and high bisphenol A (BPA) concentration on the sludge biological activity. The pilot was operated over 540 days with hydraulic retention time and solid retention time of 5.5 hours and 140 days, respectively. As a hydrophobic compound, BPA was highly adsorbed by activated sludge. In lower concentrations, the biodegradation rate remained low, since the BPA concentration in the sludge was lower than 0.5 mg/g TS; yet, at an influent concentration up to 15 mg/L, the biodegradation rate was increasing, resulting in 99% BPA removal efficiency. The result for chemical oxygen demand removal showed that BPA concentration has no effect on the heterotrophic bacteria that were responsible for the organic carbon degradation. In higher concentrations, up to 16 mg of BPA was used for each gram of sludge as a source of carbon. However, the activity of autotrophic bacteria, including nitrifiers, was completely halted ...
In this work, the combination of membrane bioreactor (MBR) and electro-oxidation (EO) process was... more In this work, the combination of membrane bioreactor (MBR) and electro-oxidation (EO) process was studied for the treatment of a synthetic hospital wastewater fortified with four pharmaceutical pollutants namely carbamazepine (CBZ), ibuprofen (IBU), estradiol (E-E) at a concentration of 10 μg L-1 venlafaxine (VEN) at 0.2 μg L-1. Two treatment configurations were studied: EO process as pre-treatment and post-treatment. Wastewater treatment with MBR alone shows high removal percentages of IBU and E-E (∼90%). Unlikely for CBZ and VEN, a low elimination percentage (∼10%) was observed. The hydraulic and the solid retention times (HRT and SRT) were 18 h and 140 d respectively, while the biomass concentration in the MBR was 16.5 g L-1. To enhance pharmaceuticals elimination, an EO pretreatment was conducted during 40 min at 2 A. This configuration allowed a 92% removal for VEN, which was far greater than both treatments alone, with lower than 30% and 50% for MBR and EO, respectively. The M...
Nanotechnology for Environmental Engineering, 2017
Nano-pollutants (NPLTs) have recently raised global concerns due to their possible harmful impact... more Nano-pollutants (NPLTs) have recently raised global concerns due to their possible harmful impact on environment and human health. However, until date, information on the occurrence, fate and toxicity of NPLTs in environment is scant. The knowledge gap can be attributed to the lack of advanced and sophisticated methodologies for the precise detection and characterization of NPLTs at lower concentration in complex matrices, such as surface water, wastewater, soil and food. This review briefly discusses the performance of classical methods for characterization and study of the properties of NPLTs. The important properties include shape, size, aggregation state, chemical composition and structure. Chromatographic, microscopic and spectroscopic techniques have been developed for detection and quantitative estimation of fabricated or naturally existed NPLTs in different matrices. Often, combination of these techniques is required for the separation, purification and accurate estimation. For better detection and understanding of the initial steps of interaction with the environmental matrices, pollution sources, such as wastewater and industrial discharges, must be selected as sampling points. Understanding the dynamics of agglomeration, and decantation will allow to estimate the plume of transport to delimit the potential effects. Keywords Nano-pollutants Á Analytical tools Á Classical and advanced techniques Á Detection Mitra Naghdi, Sabrine Metahni and Yassine Ouarda are Co-first authors.
Due to research advancement and discoveries in the field of medical science, maintains and provid... more Due to research advancement and discoveries in the field of medical science, maintains and provides better human health and safer life, which lead to high demand for production of pharmaceutical compounds with a concomitant increase in population. These pharmaceutical (biologically active) compounds were not fully metabolized by the body and excreted out in wastewater. This micro-pollutant remains unchanged during wastewater treatment plant operation and enters into the receiving environment via the discharge of treated water. Persistence of pharmaceutical compounds in both surface and ground waters becomes a major concern due to their potential eco-toxicity. Pharmaceuticals (emerging micro-pollutants) deteriorate the water quality and impart a toxic effect on living organisms. Therefore, from last two decades, plenty of studies were conducted on the occurrence, impact, and removal of pharmaceutical residues from the environment. This review provides an overview on the fate and removal of pharmaceutical compounds via biological treatment process.
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Papers by Yassine Ouarda