Naslov
Occurrence of aromatic surfactants in municipal wastewaters and their elimination using a membrane biological reactor

Autori
Terzić, Senka ; Ahel, Marijan ; Matošić, Marin ; Mijatović, Ivan

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Book of abstracts / - Zürich : Schweizerische Chemische Gesellschaft, 2003, 47-47

Skup
Analytical chemistry of organic contaminants in the environment - from determining trace contaminants to advocating sustainability

Mjesto i datum
Zürich, Švicarska, 03.09.2003. - 05.09.2003

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
surfactants; wastewater; membrane biological reactor; LAS; APnEO

Sažetak
Alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APnEO) and alkylbenzene sulphonates (LAS) were determined in wastewaters of several Croatian municipalities using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with spectrofluorimetric detection, covering a period of more than 10 years. A significant change in both absolute concentrations and APnEO/LAS ratios was observed during the investigated period, while the homologue and oligomer patterns of the target compounds remained rather stable. The composition of parent APnEO, characterised by strong predominance of nonyl homologues and by oligomer distributions peaking at NP9-10nEO, was very similar to the one found in other European regions. Although the use of APnEO surfactants in Croatia was not legally restricted, decreasing levels of alkylphenolic compounds in Croatian wastewaters during the last decade clearly reflect the effects of legal and voluntary risk reduction measures introduced in the Western Europe. In contrast, the results suggest that the concentration of LAS in wastewaters increased during the same period in some areas. As opposed to a typical situation in Western Europe, where a large percentage of wastewaters are mechanically and biologically treated, a majority of the wastewaters in Croatia are released into ambient waters without any treatment. Moreover, it was observed that the composition of alkylphenolic compounds in such raw effluents might be often ecotoxicologically less favourable due to the enhanced relative contributions of the most toxic and endocrine-disrupting alkylphenolic compounds such as AP and lipophilic APnEO that are formed under hypoxic conditions in the sewer system. This study demonstrates a high efficiency of membrane biological reactors for the elimination of aromatic surfactants from municipal wastewaters with a low formation of the lipophylic metabolites of APnEO.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Geologija, Kemijsko inženjerstvo

POVEZANOST RADA