The Fate of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor Coupled with Constructed Wetlands for Decentralized Domestic Wastewater Treatment
Removal of micropollutants using biological treatment systems remains a challenge, since conventional bioprocess systems require adaptations to provide more advanced treatment. An ambient temperature upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was employed, followed by a two-stage (saturated and...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Evridiki Barka Asimina Koukoura Evangelos Statiris Taxiarchis Seintos Athanasios S. Stasinakis Daniel Mamais Simos Malamis Constantinos Noutsopoulos |
| author_facet | Evridiki Barka Asimina Koukoura Evangelos Statiris Taxiarchis Seintos Athanasios S. Stasinakis Daniel Mamais Simos Malamis Constantinos Noutsopoulos |
| author_sort | Evridiki Barka |
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| description | Removal of micropollutants using biological treatment systems remains a challenge, since conventional bioprocess systems require adaptations to provide more advanced treatment. An ambient temperature upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was employed, followed by a two-stage (saturated and unsaturated) vertical subsurface flow (VSSF) constructed wetland (CW) system, to treat domestic wastewater from a nearby settlement and investigate the occurrence and fate of 10 contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in decentralized, non-conventional treatment systems. The integrated UASB—two-stage CW system achieved high performance regarding abatement of target CECs across all periods. Removal efficiencies ranged from 78% ± 21% (ketoprofen) to practically 100% (2-hydroxybenzothiazole). The pilot system was found to be robust performance-wise and provided enhanced treatment in comparison to a conventional wastewater treatment plant operating in parallel. Most of the target CECs were successfully treated by UASB, saturated and unsaturated CWs, while ibuprofen, bisphenol A and diclofenac were mostly removed in the unsaturated CW. Environmental risk assessment revealed that triclosan poses a significant ecological risk to algae during treated wastewater disposal into the aquatic environment. Additionally, cumulative risk quotient indicated that the potential for mixture toxicity should be carefully considered across all trophic levels. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6936e0c26f7f4ecdbc2949f6722b611d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj-art-6936e0c26f7f4ecdbc2949f6722b611d2025-08-20T03:50:21ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-06-013013267110.3390/molecules30132671The Fate of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor Coupled with Constructed Wetlands for Decentralized Domestic Wastewater TreatmentEvridiki Barka0Asimina Koukoura1Evangelos Statiris2Taxiarchis Seintos3Athanasios S. Stasinakis4Daniel Mamais5Simos Malamis6Constantinos Noutsopoulos7Sanitary Engineering Laboratory, Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zographou Campus, 9 Iroon Polytechniou St., 15773 Athens, GreeceWater and Air Quality Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, University Hill, 81100 Mytilene, GreeceSanitary Engineering Laboratory, Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zographou Campus, 9 Iroon Polytechniou St., 15773 Athens, GreeceSanitary Engineering Laboratory, Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zographou Campus, 9 Iroon Polytechniou St., 15773 Athens, GreeceWater and Air Quality Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, University Hill, 81100 Mytilene, GreeceSanitary Engineering Laboratory, Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zographou Campus, 9 Iroon Polytechniou St., 15773 Athens, GreeceSanitary Engineering Laboratory, Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zographou Campus, 9 Iroon Polytechniou St., 15773 Athens, GreeceSanitary Engineering Laboratory, Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zographou Campus, 9 Iroon Polytechniou St., 15773 Athens, GreeceRemoval of micropollutants using biological treatment systems remains a challenge, since conventional bioprocess systems require adaptations to provide more advanced treatment. An ambient temperature upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was employed, followed by a two-stage (saturated and unsaturated) vertical subsurface flow (VSSF) constructed wetland (CW) system, to treat domestic wastewater from a nearby settlement and investigate the occurrence and fate of 10 contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in decentralized, non-conventional treatment systems. The integrated UASB—two-stage CW system achieved high performance regarding abatement of target CECs across all periods. Removal efficiencies ranged from 78% ± 21% (ketoprofen) to practically 100% (2-hydroxybenzothiazole). The pilot system was found to be robust performance-wise and provided enhanced treatment in comparison to a conventional wastewater treatment plant operating in parallel. Most of the target CECs were successfully treated by UASB, saturated and unsaturated CWs, while ibuprofen, bisphenol A and diclofenac were mostly removed in the unsaturated CW. Environmental risk assessment revealed that triclosan poses a significant ecological risk to algae during treated wastewater disposal into the aquatic environment. Additionally, cumulative risk quotient indicated that the potential for mixture toxicity should be carefully considered across all trophic levels.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/13/2671non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugsendocrine disrupting chemicalsbenzotriazolesbenzothiazolesdecentralized treatmentupflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor |
| spellingShingle | Evridiki Barka Asimina Koukoura Evangelos Statiris Taxiarchis Seintos Athanasios S. Stasinakis Daniel Mamais Simos Malamis Constantinos Noutsopoulos The Fate of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor Coupled with Constructed Wetlands for Decentralized Domestic Wastewater Treatment Molecules non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs endocrine disrupting chemicals benzotriazoles benzothiazoles decentralized treatment upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor |
| title | The Fate of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor Coupled with Constructed Wetlands for Decentralized Domestic Wastewater Treatment |
| title_full | The Fate of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor Coupled with Constructed Wetlands for Decentralized Domestic Wastewater Treatment |
| title_fullStr | The Fate of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor Coupled with Constructed Wetlands for Decentralized Domestic Wastewater Treatment |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Fate of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor Coupled with Constructed Wetlands for Decentralized Domestic Wastewater Treatment |
| title_short | The Fate of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor Coupled with Constructed Wetlands for Decentralized Domestic Wastewater Treatment |
| title_sort | fate of contaminants of emerging concern in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor coupled with constructed wetlands for decentralized domestic wastewater treatment |
| topic | non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs endocrine disrupting chemicals benzotriazoles benzothiazoles decentralized treatment upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/13/2671 |
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