Evaluation of SimpleTreat 4.0: Simulations of pharmaceutical removal in wastewater treatment plant facilities.
In this study, the removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater as predicted by SimpleTreat 4.0 was evaluated. Field data obtained from literature of 43 pharmaceuticals, measured in 51 different activated sludge WWTPs were used. Based on reported influent concentrations, the effluent concentrations were calculated with SimpleTreat 4.0 and compared to measured effluent concentrations. The model predicts effluent concentrations mostly within a factor of 10, using the specific WWTP parameters as well as SimpleTreat default parameters, while it systematically underestimates concentrations in secondary sludge. This may be caused by unexpected sorption, resulting from variability in WWTP operating conditions, and/or QSAR applicability domain mismatch and background concentrations prior to measurements. Moreover, variability in detection techniques and sampling methods can cause uncertainty in measured concentration levels. To find possible structural improvements, we also evaluated SimpleTreat 4.0 using several specific datasets with different degrees of uncertainty and variability. This evaluation verified that the most influencing parameters for water effluent predictions were biodegradation and the hydraulic retention time. Results showed that model performance is highly dependent on the nature and quality, i.e. degree of uncertainty, of the data. The default values for reactor settings in SimpleTreat result in realistic predictions.
Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
L S
LS
Lautz
Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands; JSScience, Zeist, The Netherlands.
J
J
Struijs
Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
T M
TM
Nolte
Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands; National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
A M
AM
Breure
National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
E
E
van der Grinten
DMScience, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
D
D
van de Meent
Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: r.vanzelm@science.ru.nl.
R
R
van Zelm
D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D003198:Computer Simulation; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D035501:Uncertainty; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
Activated sludge; Effluent concentration; Ionizable organic chemicals; Model evaluation; WWTP