Critical review on negative emerging contaminant removal efficiency of wastewater treatment systems: Concept, consistency and consequences

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 352; p. 127054
• Main Authors: Kumar, Manish, Ngasepam, Jayalaxmi, Dhangar, Kiran, Mahlknecht, Jurgen, Manna, Suvendu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2022
• Subjects: beta-adrenergic antagonists; Biodegradation; blood pressure; byproducts; carbadox; Emerging pollutants; humans; Negative removal; Pharmaceutical and personal care products; pollutants; Process efficacy; toxicity; wastewater treatment; Biodegradation; Pharmaceutical and personal care products; Negative removal; Process efficacy; Emerging pollutants
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127054

•Negative contaminant removal (NR) i.e. higher concentrations in effluent is globally prevalent.•No treatment systems avoid negative removal for pharmaceutical personal care products.•Conventional WWTPs illustrated the highest NR for Carbamazepine, and Carbadox.•Globally, NR efficiencies for emerging contaminants varied between −0.2 to 1174%.•Separation processes, conjugation–deconjugation, biotransformation, and leaching lead to NR. Emerging contaminants (ECs) are not completely removed by wastewater treatment owing to their capabilities of making complexes, toxic derivatives, byproduct formation, and dynamic partitioning. Negative contaminant removal i.e., higher concentrations (up to 5731%) of these ECs in the effluent with respect to the influent sampled on the same occasions, is globally prevalent in almost all types of treatment systems. Conventional WWTPs showed the highest negative removal (NR) for Carbamazepine, and Carbadox. Conjugation–deconjugation, types of WWTPs, transformations, leaching, operational parameters, sampling schemes, and nature of substance governs the NR efficiencies. Among the various categories of micropollutants, pesticides and beta-blockers are reported to exhibit the maximum percentage of NR, posing threat to human and the environment. With > 200% of NR for beta-blockers, low blood-pressure related symptoms may likely to get more prevalent in the near future. Study red-flags this phenomenon of negative removal that needs urgent attention.