Ibuprofeen ja paratsetamool reovees ning nende eemaldamise meetodite efektiivsus

Veekeskkonda sattudes avaldavad ravimijäägid kahjulikku mõju veekeskkonnale ning elusorganismidele. Ravimijäägid on saasteained, mis satuvad enamasti veekeskkonda läbi inimeste ja loomade väljaheidete, vale kõrvaldamise või läbi reovee. Reoveepuhastid ei ole mõeldud eemaldama ravimijääke efektiivselt, sest reoveepuhastites kasutatakse tavaliselt primaarset ja sekundaarset puhastusprotsessi, mis eemaldavad peamiselt orgaanilist ainet ja ei ole suutlikud ravimijääke efektiivselt eemaldama. Tertsiaarse puhastusastme lisamisega on võimalik ravimijääke reoveest efektiivselt eemaldada. Tertsiaarsetest meetoditest kõige tõhusamateks tehnoloogiateks ravimijääkide ibuprofeeni ja paratsetamooli reoveest eemaldamiseks osutusid Fentoni protsess, osoneerimine ning kombineeritud protsess osooni ja aktiivsöe kasutamine. Fentoni tehnoloogia kasutamine ravimijääkide eemaldamiseks reoveepuhastis ei ole siiski parim lahendus, sest tehnoloogia on kallis ja vajab palju energiat ning puhastatud reovette koguneb suur kogus rauasetet. Osooneerimise protsess on tõhus ravimijääkide reoveest eemaldamise tehnoloogia, aga reovee osoneerimisel tekivad mürgised kõrvalsaadused. Kõrvalsaaduste eemaldamiseks oleks sobilik kasutada peale osoneerimist aktiivsöe protsessi, mis adsorbeeriks kõrvalsaadused. Kõige efektiivsem ja mõistlikum tertsiaarne puhastusmeetod reoveest ravimijääkide ibuprofeeni ja paratsetamooli eemaldamiseks on osooni ja aktiivsöe kombineerimine. Kombineeritud protsess osoon ja aktiivsüsi eemaldab reoveest ibuprofeeni ja paratsetamooli kõige tõhusamalt 94-100% efektiivsusega. See tehnoloogia sobib hästi kasutamiseks suures reoveepuhastis ja eemaldab ravimijäägid reoveest kiirelt ning tõhusalt.

Ibuprofen and Paracetamol in Wastewater and Effectiveness of Their Removal Methods

Pharmaceuticals are used to prevent or treat diseases and the use of pharmaceuticals is constantly increasing due to the growth and aging of the population. Pharmaceutical residues are pharmaceuticals that have not been used or are expired.

Ibuprofen and paracetamol are pharmaceuticals that are designed to relieve pain, inflammation and fever. These pharmaceuticals are primarily metabolized in the liver and eliminated mainly through urine. Residues of ibuprofen and paracetamol that have entered the aquatic environment are transferred to various organisms through the food chain. Long-term exposure to ibuprofen and paracetamol may cause infertility, obesity, diabetes, various types of cancer in living organisms and chronic diseases.

Pharmaceutical residues end up in wastewater from production to disposal as pollutants and have a harmful effect on the entire ecosystem. In the Baltic Sea region, the main sources of pharmaceutical pollution are the excretion of pharmaceuticals by humans and animals, improper disposal of pharmaceuticals such as throwing them in the trash, down the drain or toilet.

Pharmaceutical residues enter freshwater and marine environments primarily through wastewater treatment plants. Wastewater treatment plants are not able to effectively clean out pharmaceutical residues, because they are designed to clean out larger residues. Primary and secondary treatment processes are usually used in wastewater treatment plants. Primary treatment processes include screening, sand traps and sediment separation. Secondary process includes biological processes. These processes are not efficient enough to remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater and a tertiary post-treatment method should be added.

The aim of this thesis is to find out which tertiary treatment method is the most effective for removing ibuprofen and paracetamol from wastewater. The Fenton process, ozonation and the combined process using ozone and activated carbon were found to be the best and most effective tertiary technologies. However, using Fenton technology to remove pharmaceutical residues from wastewater is not the best solution because the technology is expensive, requires a lot of energy and a large amount of iron sediment accumulates in the treated wastewater. The ozonation process is an effective technology for removing pharmaceuticals from wastewater, but ozonation of wastewater produces toxic by-products. To remove the by-products, it is suitable to use the activated carbon process after ozonation, which would absorb the by-products.

The most effective and reasonable tertiary method for removing pharmaceutical residues of ibuprofen and paracetamol from wastewater is the combination of ozone and activated carbon. This process removes ibuprofen and paracetamol effectively from wastewater with 94-100% efficiency. This technology is well suited to use in both smaller or larger wastewater treatment plants and removes pharmaceuticals from wastewater quickly and efficiently.