Removing trace pharmaceuticals from water using household jug filters

Summary

The presence of residual amounts of pharmaceuticals in hydrosphere objects has recently become an increasingly significant problem. The production and consumption of drugs is constantly growing, and their range is also expanding. The existing level of wastewater treatment cannot guarantee the removal of hard-to-remove components, which can lead to the appearance and further circulation of various contaminants, including pharmaceuticals, in water bodies. The authors conducted experimental studies of the effectiveness of removing residual amounts of drugs of the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs from water using household «jug» filters. Jug filters have been shown to be effective in removing trace amounts of pharmaceuticals from water. While studying the properties of sorbents included in the composition of filter mixtures, it was revealed that activated carbon was the most effective adsorption component responsible for the extraction of these compounds, whereas, the capacity of the remaining components of the sorption mixture in relation to ibuprofen and naproxen was insignificant.

Key words

potable water , narcotics and pharmaceuticals , household filters , ibuprofen , naproxen

Chemical information study of wastewater
(review)

Summary

The research discipline «Chemical information study of wastewater» has originated and made rapid strides since the beginning of 2000-ies in response to the demand of developing the channels of acquiring the information on the use of broad spectrum of banned narcotics and pharmaceuticals, on the effect of toxic substances, on some health indicators of the population and its size inside the territory under the study. Compared to the traditional methods of questioning and social-epidemiologic studies that imply the compilation of statistics, study of medical reports, acquisition of the information on the production and sale of the relevant medications the considered approach has certain advantages and provides for establishing continuous monitoring almost on a real-time basis. The method includes measuring the concentrations of active substances and/or metabolites of the medications studied that enter the sewer as a result of the excretion from the human organism and using the method of this data processing to determine the level of consumption of medications or narcotics by the population living on the territory served by the sewer network. Similarly the level of the population exposure to the impact of pollutants can be determined. The data obtained in some countries with the use of the considered approach corresponds to the results of the traditional studies, and, in some cases is a successful supplement. It is supposed that the significance and efficiency of the method will grow as well as under the conditions of the sewer network upgrade.

Key words

wastewater , sewerage system , narcotics and pharmaceuticals , toxic substances , public wastewater treatment facilities , back calculations method