Ozone Oxidation of Endocrine Disruptors and Pharmaceuticals in Surface Water and Wastewater

• Published in: Ozone: science & engineering 2006-12, Vol.28 (6), p.445-460
• Main Authors: Snyder, Shane A., Wert, Eric C., Rexing, David J., Zegers, Ronald E., Drury, Douglas D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Advanced Oxidation Process; Applied sciences; Continental surface waters; Drinking Water; Drinking water and swimming-pool water. Desalination; Endocrine Disruptors; Exact sciences and technology; General purification processes; Hydrogen Peroxide; Natural water pollution; Ozone; Pharmaceuticals; Pollution; Surface Water; Wastewater; Wastewaters; Water Reuse; Water treatment and pollution
• ISSN: 0191-9512; 1547-6545
• DOI: 10.1080/01919510601039726

The oxidative removal of a diverse group of trace organic contaminants from surface water and wastewater was evaluated using ozone (O 3 ) and O 3 combined with hydrogen peroxide (O 3 /H 2 O 2 ). Target compounds included estrogenic and androgenic steroids, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals. Bench- and pilot- scale experiments were conducted with surface water spiked with the target compounds and wastewater effluent containing ambient concentrations of target compounds. Full-scale water treatment plants were sampled before and after ozonation to determine if bench- and pilot-scale results accurately predict full-scale removal. In both drinking water and wastewater experiments, the majority of target compounds were removed by greater than 90% at O 3 exposures commonly used for disinfection. Atrazine, iopromide, meprobamate, and tris-chloroethylphosphate (TCEP) were the most recalcitrant compounds to oxidize using O 3 , with removals generally less than 50%. The addition of H 2 O 2 for advanced oxidation was of little benefit for contaminant removal as compared to O 3 alone. O 3 /H 2 O 2 provided a marginal increase in the removal of dilantin, diazepam, DEET, iopromide, and meprobamate, while decreasing the removal efficacy of pentoxifylline, caffeine, testosterone, progesterone, and androstenedione. In wastewater experiments, O 3 and O 3 /H 2 O 2 were shown to remove in vitro estrogenicity. Collectively, these data provide evidence that O 3 is a highly effective oxidant for removing the majority of trace organic contaminants from water.