title: Effect of anaerobic digestion at 35, 55 and 60 °C on pharmaceuticals and organic contaminants.
abstract: The application of treated sewage sludge on farmland is a suggested method for recycling nutrients and reducing demand for commercial fertilizer. However, sludge needs to be safe from possible contaminants which can cause acute and long-term health and environmental problems. Residual pharmaceuticals and organic contaminants are mentioned as emerging threats since wastewater treatment plants are not designed to degrade these substances. The aim of this study was to screen and evaluate the presence, and reduction, of pharmaceuticals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during anaerobic digestion of mixed primary and waste-activated sludge at 35, 55 and 60 °C and during pasteurization at 70 °C. The study showed the difficulty of analysing pharmaceutical compounds in low concentrations in the sludge matrix. No general reduction of these compounds was seen during treatment, but for individual substances some reduction occurred. The PAHs were generally not reduced during digestion or pasteurization, but for three substances (indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene and dibenzo[a,h]anthracene (analysed together) and benzo[g,h,i]perylene) reduction (up to 60%) during digestion was seen. Digestion at 35 and 55 °C resulted in about the same order of reduction of the three individual PAHs, which was higher than for digestion at 60 °C.
authors.affiliation: Water and Environmental Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, 221 00 Lund, Sweden E-mail: asa.davidsson@chemeng.lth.se.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Davidsson
authors.affiliation: Water and Environmental Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, 221 00 Lund, Sweden E-mail: asa.davidsson@chemeng.lth.se.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kjerstadius
authors.affiliation: Water and Environmental Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, 221 00 Lund, Sweden E-mail: asa.davidsson@chemeng.lth.se.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haghighatafshar
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fick
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljoevej 113, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljoevej 113, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wachtmeister
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljoevej 113, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.affiliation: Water and Environmental Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, 221 00 Lund, Sweden E-mail: asa.davidsson@chemeng.lth.se.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: la Cour Jansen
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D012722:Sewage / Q000032:analysis*; D013696:Temperature; D018505:Waste Management; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical