Removal of estrogens in municipal wastewater treatment plants: a Chinese perspective.
Great efforts have been made in China to retrofit and upgrade the existing municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for enhanced removal of organic substrates and in particular nutrients. However, the removal of trace recalcitrant or hazardous organic chemicals, e.g. steroid estrogens, one group of typical endocrine disrupting chemicals, has long been overlooked. The extensive investigations on estrogen removal rates in global and Chinese WWTPs and the estrogen biodegradation kinetics results in batch laboratory experiments are reviewed in this study. The effects of estrogen initial concentration and nitrifying activated sludge are highlighted. Challenges existing in current estrogen studies are pointed out, which are relevant for researches on fate and behavior of similar down-the-drain chemicals in both Chinese and global WWTPs.
School of Environment and Energy, Key Laboratory for Urban Habitat Environmental Science and Technology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Nan
N
Xu
Yi-Feng
YF
Xu
Shuo
S
Xu
Jing
J
Li
Hu-Chun
HC
Tao
D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002681:China; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D004967:Estrogens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D058465:Nitrification; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D004967:Estrogens; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical