TY - JOUR
T1 - Occurrence of selected pharmaceuticals in wastewater and sludge samples from wastewater treatment plants in Eastern Cape province of South Africa
AU - Netshithothole, Ronewa
AU - Managa, Muthumuni
AU - Botha, Tarryn Lee
AU - Madikizela, Lawrence Mzukisi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 South African Chemical Institute. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024/1/1
Y1 - 2024/1/1
N2 - The occurrence of pharmaceuticals in various wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and their discharge into the surface water are existing global challenges. However, such challenges are more detrimental in developing countries due to the aging infrastructure and its vandalism influenced by poverty, resulting in the illegal breakdown of the WWTPs. This study investigated the presence of efavirenz, ibuprofen, naproxen, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim in WWTPs. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) followed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) was used to extract these pharmaceuticals in sludge samples, with wastewater extracted with only the latter. This was followed with analysis using a high-performance liquid chromatography-photo-diode array detection system. Recoveries found after spiking the samples with analytes at different concentrations ranged from 56 to 117%. An antibiotic, sulfamethoxazole, was among the prominent drugs in untreated wastewater with its concentration reaching 77 μg L-1. All the analytes were detected in sludge samples, with naproxen having the highest concentration of 13.35 ng g-1. The pharmaceutical with the lowest removal efficiency (2-12%) in WWTPs was efavirenz, while other drugs were fairly removed from wastewater. Overall, the findings of this study indicate the dysfunctionality of selected WWTPs in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa due to the release of high amounts of pharmaceuticals into the surface water which can be detrimental to humans, animals, and aquatic life.
AB - The occurrence of pharmaceuticals in various wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and their discharge into the surface water are existing global challenges. However, such challenges are more detrimental in developing countries due to the aging infrastructure and its vandalism influenced by poverty, resulting in the illegal breakdown of the WWTPs. This study investigated the presence of efavirenz, ibuprofen, naproxen, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim in WWTPs. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) followed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) was used to extract these pharmaceuticals in sludge samples, with wastewater extracted with only the latter. This was followed with analysis using a high-performance liquid chromatography-photo-diode array detection system. Recoveries found after spiking the samples with analytes at different concentrations ranged from 56 to 117%. An antibiotic, sulfamethoxazole, was among the prominent drugs in untreated wastewater with its concentration reaching 77 μg L-1. All the analytes were detected in sludge samples, with naproxen having the highest concentration of 13.35 ng g-1. The pharmaceutical with the lowest removal efficiency (2-12%) in WWTPs was efavirenz, while other drugs were fairly removed from wastewater. Overall, the findings of this study indicate the dysfunctionality of selected WWTPs in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa due to the release of high amounts of pharmaceuticals into the surface water which can be detrimental to humans, animals, and aquatic life.
KW - pharmaceuticals
KW - removal efficiency
KW - sewage sludge
KW - solid-phase extraction
KW - ultrasound-assisted extraction
KW - wastewater
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85188192503&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.17159/0379-4350/2024/v78a02
DO - 10.17159/0379-4350/2024/v78a02
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85188192503
SN - 0379-4350
VL - 78
SP - 7
EP - 14
JO - South African Journal of Chemistry
JF - South African Journal of Chemistry
IS - 1
ER -