title: Liquid chromatography-(tandem) mass spectrometry for the follow-up of the elimination of persistent pharmaceuticals during wastewater treatment applying biological wastewater treatment and advanced oxidation.
abstract: The persistent and hardly eliminable pharmaceutical compounds carbamazepine, diazepam, diclofenac and clofibric acid were monitored in municipal wastewater by electrospray LC-MS and LC-MS-MS in positive and negative mode under high resolution and high mass accuracy conditions. While biological treatment by conventional and membrane bioreactors failed, the advanced oxidation methods using ozone (O3), O3/UV or hydrogen peroxide in combination with UV (H2O2/UV) successfully led to the complete elimination of these compounds. Target compounds could be confirmed as permanently present pollutants in Aachen-Soers wastewater in concentrations between 0.006 and 1.9 microg l(-1). Pharmaceuticals were determined after extraction using either C18 solid-phase extraction or by directly injecting them into the column without pre-concentration, achieving limits of quantification of 0.001 or 0.00001 microg l(-1), respectively.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Engineering, Environmental Analytical Laboratory, RWTH Aachen University, Krefelder Strasse 299, D-52056 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Wilhelm
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gebhardt
authors.forename: Horst Fr
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Schröder
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical