title: The occurrence and removal of selected fluoroquinolones in urban drinking water treatment plants.
abstract: Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are a widely prescribed group of antibiotics. They enter the aqueous environment, where they are frequently detected, and can lead to a threat to human health. Drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) play a key role in removing FQs from potable water. This study investigated the occurrence and removal of four selected FQs (norfloxacin (NOR), ciprofloxacin (CIP), enrofloxacin (ENR), and ofloxacin (OFL)) in three urban DWTPs in China. The treatment efficacy for each system was simultaneously evaluated. Two of the examined DWTPs used conventional treatment processes. The third used conventional processes followed by additional treatment processes (ozonation-biologically activated carbon (ozonation-BAC) and membrane technology). The average concentrations of the four FQs in the source water and the finished water ranged from 51 to 248 ng/L and from <5 to 46 ng/L, respectively. Based on residual concentrations, the conventional treatment system had a low removal of FQs. In contrast, the addition of advanced treatment processes such as the ozonation-BAC and membranes, substantially improved the removal of FQs. The finding of this study has important implications: even though coagulation-sedimentation and chlorination treatment processes can remove most target FQs, the typical practice of advanced treatment processes is necessary for the further removal.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China. xuyongpeng@hit.edu.cn.|School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China. xuyongpeng@hit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yongpeng
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9095-434X
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: China Heilongjiang Urban Planning Surveying Design and Research Institute, Harbin, 150040, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210098, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China.
authors.forename: Shiyao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China.|School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China.
authors.forename: Wenxin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D002681:China; D002939:Ciprofloxacin / Q000032:analysis; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D000077422:Enrofloxacin; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D024841:Fluoroquinolones / Q000032:analysis*; D009643:Norfloxacin; D015242:Ofloxacin; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D060766:Drinking Water; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D000077422:Enrofloxacin; D002939:Ciprofloxacin; D015242:Ofloxacin; D009643:Norfloxacin
keywords: Advanced treatment process; Drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs); Fluoroquinolones (FQs); Reduction in concentration; Removal ratio