Page 146 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

Biological Approach for Removal of Pharmaceutical Pollutants 127

contamination and can transmit serious and dangerous diseases to humans (Escher
et al., 2011). The presence of chlorinated natural compounds and heavy metals, for
example, Hg and Pb, has been observed in WWTP effluent from healthcare facilities
(Bushra et al., 2015; Naushad et al., 2015).
Globally, there is expanding concern around the potential ecological impacts
of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments. Hospitals have been identified as a
key source of pharmaceuticals that can circulate as important micro-pollutants.
Painkillers, for example, diclofenac, and hormones, for instance, can have fatal
effects on fish, shellfish, and green growth at extremely low levels.

7.5 TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES

7.5.1 WaTer TreaTMenT planTs
Water treatment plant outlets are the essential point sources of pharmaceutical pollu-
tion in rivers and seas. The current wastewater treatment procedures are unequipped
to deal with the majority of pharmaceutical contaminants; removal efficiencies ordi-
narily range from 12.5% to 100% (Luo et al., 2014). Microbial metabolism, as well
as deconjugation of glucuronides of the pharmaceuticals and their active metabolites,
can have a negative effect on removal. Removal efficiency depends on the treatment
procedure, the age of the sewage, the geology of the region, and the precipitation
rate. The general pharmaceutical pollution profile is additionally reliant on the pat-
tern of pharmaceutical production and use (Behera et al., 2011; Chen et al., 2012).

7.5.2 TreaTMenT MeTHoDologies for pHarMaceuTical
inDusTry WasTeWaTer
The pharmaceutical business uses a wide collection of wastewater treatment and
transfer methods. Wastewaters created by these enterprises vary in organization as
well as in amount, by plant, season, and even time, contingent on the raw materi-
als and the procedures used as a part of manufacturing different pharmaceuticals.
Treatment plant area likewise acquires a variable identified with nature of accessible
water. Consequently, it is exceptionally hard to determine a specific treatment frame-
work for such an enhanced pharmaceutical industry. Numerous treatment procedure
options are available to manage the wide range of wastes created by this industry;
however, they are specific to the type of industry and the related waste. Figure 7.4
depicts a pharmaceutical effluent WWTP.
In any case, six general methodologies which can be used to treat pharmaceutical
wastewaters:

• Recovery of individual APIs or medications that are probably going to be
available in wash waters and solvents
• Physical-synthetic treatment by sedimentation or flotation
• Vigorous/anaerobic natural treatment in layer bioreactors or bioaeration
• Inactivation of dynamic substances by UV oxidation in conjunction with
O or H O 2
2
3