Tuesday, October 23, 2007 : 4:30 p.m.
Modeling Removal of Hormones and Xenoestrogens during Conventional Wastewater Treatment
Conventional wastewater treatment methods were not developed to remove the great many trace organic chemicals that are present in municipal wastewater. Many such compounds elude conventional treatment and are discharged to surface waters. Among the trace contaminants that deserve close attention are those that affect endocrine system response. Here, the mechanisms of estrogenic compound removal during conventional wastewater treatment have been simulated based on known wastewater treatment processes and contaminant chemical characteristics. Models were calibrated using a combination of field and pilot-scale data. The calibrated models can be used to predict treatment plant performance under a variety of operational conditions with known physical and biochemical properties.
Sondra S. Teske, University of Arizona Sondra Teske is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering. Her research focus is on the fate of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) during wastewater treatment processes and measuring their estrogenic activity through bioassays.
6th International Conference on Pharmaceuticals and Enocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Water