Full scale membrane bioreactor treatment of hospital wastewater as forerunner for hot-spot wastewater treatment solutions in high density urban areas.

Membrane Bioreactors (MBR) are a very attractive option for the treatment of hospital wastewater and elimination of pharmaceuticals in high density urban areas. The present investigation showed that, depending on the substance, between 19% and 94% of the level of antibiotics found in the environment originate from hospitals. Because of their ecotoxic potential, hospital wastewaters can have a significant impact on the environment. The segregation of these wastewaters and their separate treatment at the source can reduce the entry of drugs in waterways and enable water reuse after adequate polishing treatment processes.

[1]  T. Ternes.  Occurrence of drugs in German sewage treatment plants and rivers 1 Dedicated to Professor Dr. Klaus , 1998 .

[2]  Adriano Joss,et al.  Biological degradation of pharmaceuticals in municipal wastewater treatment: proposing a classification scheme. , 2006, Water research.

[3]  Y. Perrodin,et al.  Study of the combined effects of a peracetic acid-based disinfectant and surfactants contained in hospital effluents on Daphnia magna , 2007, Ecotoxicology.

[4]  K. Kümmerer.  Antibiotics in the aquatic environment--a review--part II. , 2009, Chemosphere.

[5]  M. Fuerhacker,et al.  Genotoxic effects of wastewater from an oncological ward. , 2009, Mutation research.

[6]  S. Zuehlke,et al.  Occurrence, fate and assessment of polar metamizole (dipyrone) residues in hospital and municipal wastewater. , 2008, Chemosphere.

[7]  Ursula Obst,et al.  Detection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their resistance genes in wastewater, surface water, and drinking water biofilms. , 2003, FEMS microbiology ecology.

[8]  J. Pinnekamp,et al.  Treatment of hospital wastewater effluent by nanofiltration and reverse osmosis. , 2010, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[9]  K Kümmerer,et al.  Promoting resistance by the emission of antibiotics from hospitals and households into effluent. , 2003, Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.