Analysis of cytostatic compounds to evaluate removal efficiency via advanced wastewater treatments

Abstract

Aquatic ecosystems have been significantly affected by the continuous release of anthropogenic substances into water bodies (Kümmerer, 2009; Schröder et al., 2016). Emerging contaminants (ECs), including micropollutants, are defined as toxic compounds which, even at very low concentrations, may pose serious risks to the environment and human health. These are not novel substances but rather compounds whose environmental presence has only recently become detectable. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) receive complex mixtures of countless micropollutants daily that are not effectively removed and are consequently discharged with the final effluent into aquatic systems (Reemtsma et al., 2006; Kosjek and Heath, 2011; Geissen et al., 2015)...Los ecosistemas acuáticos se han visto significativamente afectados por la liberación continua de contaminantes de origen antropogénico (Kümmerer, 2009; Schröder et al., 2016). Los contaminantes emergentes, incluidos los microcontaminantes, se definen como compuestos tóxicos que, incluso a concentraciones muy bajas, pueden representar riesgos graves para el medio ambiente y la salud humana. No se trata únicamente de sustancias nuevas, sino de compuestos cuya presencia ambiental solo ha podido detectarse recientemente. Las estaciones depuradoras de aguas residuales reciben diariamente mezclas complejas de innumerables microcontaminantes que no se eliminan eficazmente y, en consecuencia, se descargan con el efluente final en los sistemas acuáticos (Reemtsma et al., 2006; Kosjek y Heath, 2011; Geissen et al., 2015)...