How are pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) removed from urban wastewaters?

The presence of bioactive trace pollutants such as pharmaceuticals and ingredients of personal care products (PPCPs) in different environmental compartments (rivers, lakes, groundwaters, sediments, etc.) is an emerging issue due to the lack of existing information about the potential impact associated with their occurrence, fate and ecotoxicological effects. Due to the low PPCP concentrations reported in wastewaters (ppb or ppt) and their complex chemical structure, common technologies used in sewage and drinking water treatment plants may not be efficient enough to accomplish their complete removal. Information about physico-chemical characteristics such as acidity, lipophilicity, volatility and sorption potential is a useful tool to understand the different removal patterns observed. In order to perform an accurate overall mass balance along the different units of sewage treatment plants, it is necessary to gather information not only about the presence of micropollutants in the aqueous phase, but also on the fraction sorbed onto solids. Since only some PPCPs are very well eliminated by conventional sewage treatment configurations, new strategies such as modification of operating conditions (e.g. solids retention time), implementation of new technologies (e.g. biomembrane reactors) or additional advanced post-treatment steps (e.g. oxidation, adsorption, membranes) have been suggested for an increased efficiency.