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Your search keyword '"Wezel, Annemarie P. van"' showing total 7 results
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7 results on '"Wezel, Annemarie P. van"'

1. European-wide spatial analysis of sewage treatment plants and the possible benefits to nature of advanced treatment to reduce pharmaceutical emissions

Author

Dijk, Joanke van, Dekker, Stefan C., Kools, Stefan A.E., Wezel, Annemarie P. van, Dijk, Joanke van, Dekker, Stefan C., Kools, Stefan A.E., and Wezel, Annemarie P. van

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals are known to widely occur in the environment and to affect the health of ecosystems. Sewage treatment plants (STPs) are main emission pathways for pharmaceuticals, which are often not sufficiently removed during wastewater treatment. In Europe, STP treatment requirements are specified under the Urban WasteWater Treatment Directive (UWWTD). The introduction of advanced treatment techniques, such as ozonation and activated carbon, under the UWWTD is expected to be an important option to reduce pharmaceutical emissions. In this study, we present a European-wide analysis of STPs reported under the UWWTD, their current treatment level and potential to remove a set of 58 prioritised pharmaceuticals. Three different scenarios were analysed to show 1) UWWTD present effectiveness, 2) the effectiveness at full UWWTD compliance, and 3) the effectiveness when advanced treatment is implemented at STPs with a treatment capacity of >100.000 person equivalents. Based on a literature study, the potential of individual STPs to reduce pharmaceutical emissions ranged from an average of 9% for STPs with primary treatment to 84% for STPs applying advanced treatment. Results of our calculations show that European-wide emission of pharmaceuticals can be reduced with 68% when large STPs are updated with advanced treatment, but spatial differences exist. We argue that adequate attention should also be paid with regards to preventing environmental impacts of STPs with a capacity <100.000 p.e. Circa 44% of total STP effluent is emitted near Natura2000 sites (EU nature protection areas). Of all surface waters receiving STP effluent for which the ecological status has been assessed under the Water Framework Directive, 77% have a status of less than good. Relatively often only primary treatment is applied to wastewater emitted into coastal waters. This analysis can be used to further model pharmaceutical concentrations in European surface waters, to identify STPs for whic

Published
2023

3. Safe and sustainable by design: A computer-based approach to redesign chemicals for reduced environmental hazards

Author

Dijk, Joanke van, Flerlage, Hannah, Beijer, Steven, Slootweg, J. Chris, Wezel, Annemarie P. van, Global Ecohydrology and Sustainability, Environmental Sciences, Freshwater and Marine Ecology (IBED, FNWI), Synthetic Organic Chemistry (HIMS, FNWI), IBED Other Research (FNWI), Global Ecohydrology and Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences

Subjects
Environmental hazards, Environmental Engineering, Chemistry(all), Computers, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis, In silico methods, Environmental and Occupational Health, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, General Medicine, General Chemistry, Green and circular chemistry, Pollution, Organophosphates, Health, Environmental Chemistry, Toxicology and Mutagenesis, Public Health, Chemical redesign, Environmental Pollution, Safe and sustainable chemicals, Flame Retardants
Abstract

Persistency of chemicals in the environment is seen a pressing issue as it results in accumulation of chemicals over time. Persistent chemicals can be an asset in a well-functioning circular economy where products are more durable and can be reused or recycled. This objective can however not always be fulfilled as release of chemicals from products into the environment can be inherently coupled to their use. In these situations, chemicals should be designed for degradation. In this study, a systematic and computer-aided workflow was developed to facilitate the chemical redesign for reduced persistency. The approach includes elements of Essential Use, Alternatives Assessment and Green and Circular Chemistry and ties into goals recently formulated in the context of the EU Green Deal. The organophosphate chemical triisobutylphosphate (TiBP) was used as a case study for exploration of the approach, as its emission to the environment was expected to be inevitable when used as a flame retardant. Over 6.3 million alternative structures were created in silico and filtered based on QSAR outputs to remove potentially non-readily biodegradable structures. With a multi-criteria analysis based on predicted properties and synthesizability a top 500 of most desirable structures was identified. The target structure (di-n-butyl (2-hydroxyethyl) phosphate) was manually selected and synthesized. The approach can be expanded and further verified to reach its full potential in the mitigation of chemical pollution and to help enable a safe circular economy.

Published
2022

7. Sorption of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances and their precursors on activated carbon under realistic drinking water conditions: Insights into sorbent variability and PFAS structural effects.

Author

Sadia M, Beut LB, Pranić M, Wezel APV, and Laak TLT

Abstract

Recent stringent drinking water quality standards create challenges for water utilities to meet these standards. Advanced treatment techniques will have to be applied on many drinking water production locations to meet these quality standards. This study investigated the sorption of per- and polyfluorinated-alkyl substances (PFAS) onto granular activated carbon (GAC). The study was performed at environmentally relevant PFAS concentrations and a realistic water-to-GAC ratio, providing a realism often overlooked in existing studies. Three different forms of GAC were evaluated, differing in micropore and mesopore structures. Tap water spiked with 5 ng/L of each of 31 PFAS was used in the sorption experiments, i.e. perfluorocarboxylic acids (C 4 -C 12 ), perfluorosulfonic acids (PFSA, C 5 -C 10 ) including linear and branched isomers, and three groups of PFAS precursors (per-/polyfluoroalkyl ether acids, sulfonamides, and sulfonamide acetic acids). The three studied GAC did not exhibit distinct differences in PFAS sorption. The removal of PFAS was below 50 % for most studied PFAS, except for the short-chain PFAS precursors. Sorption was affected by both the carbon chain length and functional groups for PFAS, while this was not observed for PFAS precursors. The presence of ether linkages and sulfonamide groups notably enhanced sorption. Linear and branched PFSA demonstrated similar sorption behavior, whereas branched isomers of the sulfonamide acetic acid precursors exhibited significantly higher sorption. This indicates that sorption was determined by both hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. Given the relatively low PFAS removal by GAC under environmentally relevant test conditions, further improvements in sorbents are required to ensure that PFAS concentrations in produced drinking water comply with drinking water standards., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Published
2024
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