Rejection of pharmaceuticals in nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane drinking water treatment

Water Res. 2008 Aug;42(14):3601-10. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2008.05.020. Epub 2008 Jun 24.

Abstract

This paper investigates the removal of a broad range of pharmaceuticals during nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) applied in a full-scale drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) using groundwater. Pharmaceutical residues detected in groundwater used as feed water in all five sampling campaigns were analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs such as ketoprofen, diclofenac, acetaminophen and propyphenazone, beta-blockers sotalol and metoprolol, an antiepileptic drug carbamazepine, the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, a lipid regulator gemfibrozil and a diuretic hydrochlorothiazide. The highest concentrations in groundwater were recorded for hydrochlorothiazide (58.6-2548ngL(-1)), ketoprofen (<MQL-314ngL(-1)), diclofenac (60.2-219.4ngL(-1)), propyphenazone (51.5-295.8ngL(-1)) and carbamazepine (8.7-166.5ngL(-1)). Excellent overall performance of both NF and RO was noted, with high rejection percentages for almost all of the pharmaceuticals investigated (>85%). Deteriorations in retentions on NF and RO membranes were observed for acetaminophen (44.8-73 %), gemfibrozil (50-70 %) and mefenamic acid (30-50%). Furthermore, since several pharmaceutical residues were detected in the brine stream of NF and RO processes at concentrations of several hundreds nanogram per litre, its disposal to a near-by river can represent a possible risk implication of this type of treatment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Drug Residues / chemistry
  • Filtration / instrumentation
  • Filtration / methods*
  • Molecular Structure
  • Nanostructures*
  • Osmosis
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations / chemistry*
  • Water / chemistry*
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / chemistry
  • Water Purification / instrumentation*
  • Water Purification / methods*

Substances

  • Pharmaceutical Preparations
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Water