title: Seasonal and spatial variations of PPCP occurrence, removal and mass loading in three wastewater treatment plants located in different urbanization areas in Xiamen, China.
abstract: The occurrence and fate of 48 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in different urbanization areas in Xiamen, China was investigated over one year. Results showed that PPCPs were widely detected, but the major PPCPs in the influent, effluent, and sludge were different. Spatial and seasonal variations of PPCP levels in the influent and sludge were observed. The removal efficiencies for most PPCPs were similar among the three WWTPs, although they employed different biological treatment processes. Furthermore, the mass loadings per inhabitant of most pharmaceuticals had a positive correlation with the urbanization levels, indicating that most pharmaceutical usage was higher in the urban core compared to the suburban zones. The total mass loadings of all the 48 PPCPs in the effluent and waste sludge showed close proportions, which suggested the importance of proper waste sludge disposal to prevent a large quantity of PPCPs from entering the environment.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100043, China.
authors.forename: Mingyue
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100043, China.
authors.forename: Cong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Xiamen Water Affairs Zhonghuan Sewage Treatment Co. Ltd., Xiamen 361000, China.
authors.forename: Xiangqiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Xiamen Water Affairs Zhonghuan Sewage Treatment Co. Ltd., Xiamen 361000, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China. Electronic address: cpyu@iue.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Chang-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D003358:Cosmetics / Q000032:analysis*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis*; D012621:Seasons; D012722:Sewage; D014507:Urbanization; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D003358:Cosmetics; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Mass loadings; PPCPs; Seasonal and spatial variations; Urbanization; WWTPs