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Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering >> 2009, Volume 3, Issue 2 doi: 10.1007/s11783-009-0004-9

Biodegradation of trace pharmaceutical substances in wastewater by a membrane bioreactor

1. School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China; 2. Department of Civil Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan

Available online: 2009-06-05

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Abstract

The biodegradation of selected pharmaceutical micropollutants, including two pharmaceuticals with argued biodegradation, was studied by a lab-scale membrane bioreactor. The reaction kinetics and affecting factors were also investigated in this paper. Clofibric acid (CA) with contradictive biodegradation reported was degraded almost completely at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) after adaptation to microorganisms. The biodegradation of CA was disturbed at low pH operation, while the activity of microorganisms recovered again after pH adjustment to neutral condition. Ibuprofen (IBP) degraded under neutral and acidic conditions. Removals of IBP and CA were zero-order and first-order reactions under high and low initial concentrations, respectively. Carbamazepine and diclofenac were not degraded regardless of HRTs and pH.

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