Page 177 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

158 Life Cycle Assessment of Wastewater Treatment

TABLE 8.1 (CONTINUED)
Structure of Assessed Pharmaceuticals
Molar Mass Solubility in
−1
Drug Family Drug (g mol ) Water (mg L ) Reference
−1
Norfloxacin 319.33 1.78 × 10 (at Yalkowsky and
5
25°C) Dannenfelser (1992)
C 16 H 18 FN 3 O 3
Flumequine 261.25 1,240 (at 25°C) Yalkowsky and
Dannenfelser (1992)
C 14 H 12 FNO 3
Sarafloxacin 385.36 105 (at 25°C) Yalkowsky and
Dannenfelser (1992)
C 20 H 17 F 2 N 3 O 3
Sulfamethazine 278.33 1,500 (at 29°C) Herzfeldt and Kümmel
C 12 H 14 N 4 O 2 S (1983)
Sulfathiazole 255.32 373 (at 25°C) Yalkowsky and
Dannenfelser (1992)
C 9 H 9 N 3 O 2 S 2
Sulfapyridine 249.29 268 (at 25°C) Yalkowsky and
C 11 H 11 N 3 O 2 S Dannenfelser (1992)
Sulfamethoxazole 253.28 610 (at 37°C) Yalkowsky and
C 10 H 11 N 3 O 3 S Dannenfelser (1992)
Lipid Clofibric acid 214.65 29 (at 25°C) Pharmacopoeia (2002)
regulators C 10 H 11 ClO 3
Octyl salicylate 250.33 10,000 (at Pharmacopoeia (2002)
25°C)
C 15 H 22 O 3
β-blockers Atenolol 266.34 13,300 (at McFarland et al. (2001)
25°C)
C 14 H 22 N 2 O 3
Propranolol 259.34 61.7 (at 25°C) McFarland et al. (2001)
C 16 H 21 NO 2
Estrogens 17β-estradiol 277.41 3.6 (at 27°C) Yalkowsky and
Dannenfelser (1992)
C 18 H 24 O 2
17α-ethinylestradiol
296.40 11.3 (at 27°C) Yalkowsky and
C 20 H 24 O 2
Dannenfelser (1992)

The choice of the reactor configuration and design parameters depends on sev-
eral factors affecting the performance and the activity of the employed organism.
Developments in the emerging fungal treatment of pharmaceuticals in WWTP effluent
are spectacular from a technological point of view. However, these biological methods
still suffer from different limitations and technological gaps and have a long way to go.
Little is known about the fate of PhACs and biopharmaceuticals in the environment.
In addition, the occurrence, fate, or activity of transformed compounds and metabo-
lites (which might be more toxic) in the environment is also not well known. The other
concern is that the results of fungal treatment practices have often been obtained from
in vitro sterilized conditions, employing synthetic liquid media and controlled pH and
temperature; these results might be irrelevant for real wastewater treatment practices,
in which a community of microorganisms is growing and possibly interfering with the
fungal treatment, and may not be practical for scaling up systems.