Removal, seasonal variation, and environmental impact of parabens in a municipal wastewater treatment facility in Guangzhou, China
2020
Liu, Zhineng | Tam, Nora F. Y. | Kuo, Dave T. F. | Wu, Qihang | Du, Yongming | Shi, Yongfeng | Kong, Deguan | Zhang, Yucheng | Li, Haiyan | Hu, Xiaodong
The occurrence, seasonal variation, and environmental impact of five widely used parabens, methyl-(MeP), ethyl-(EtP), n-propyl-(n-PrP), n-butyl-(n-BuP), and benzyl-(BzP) parabens, were investigated in a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) located in Guangzhou, China, for 1 year. The concentrations of ∑₅parabens in the influent and the effluent were 94.2–957 and 0.89–14.7 ng L⁻¹, respectively. The influent paraben concentrations in autumn were significantly lower than in winter, spring, and summer, and the concentrations were generally higher in spring. The removal efficiencies of ∑₅parabens in the dissolved phase were over 96%, with high efficiencies in MeP, EtP, and n-PrP. Risk assessment indicated that parabens in the effluent were not likely to pose an environmental risk to aquatic ecosystems. The present study indicates that the treatment processes employed in full-scale WWTPs are effective at removing parabens and highlights the possibility of utilizing WWTPs for restoring water quality in riverine and coastal regions heavily impacted by paraben contamination.
显示更多 [+] 显示较少 [-]