Occurence and Removal of Pharmaceuticals from Wastewater

U posljednje vrijeme sve se više pozornosti posvećuje utjecaju farmaceutika na sav živi svijet. Farmaceutici dospijevaju u okoliš ispuštanjem onečišćenih voda iz industrijskih postrojenja za farmaceutsku proizvodnju, postrojenja za obradu otpadnih voda, bolnica, životinjskih farmi, i sl. Iako je postojanost lijekova u okolišu relativno mala, oni su sveprisutni, budući da u okoliš dospijevaju konstantno, a za njihovu degradaciju i transformaciju je potrebno znatno dulje vrijeme. Ostatci lijekova ili njihovi metaboliti nakon obrade otpadnih voda nađeni su u ispustima, površinskim i podzemnim vodama, vodovodnoj vodi te u tlu. Problemi vezani uz prisutnost lijekova u okolišu uključuju poremećaje fizioloških procesa i reproduktivne funkcije organizma, razvoj rezistentnih bakterija te povećanje toksičnosti nekih farmaceutski aktivnih spojeva. Prednost otpadnih voda farmaceutske industrije je njihov poznati sastav, zbog čega je moguća ciljana obrada voda kako bi se zadovoljili zakonom propisani uvjeti. U ovome radu opisan je utjecaj farmaceutika na okoliš, kemijska svojstva, pregled najčešće korištenih metoda uklanjanja farmaceutika iz otpadnih voda te su navedene prednosti i nedostatci svakog od postupka.In the last decades more attention is paid to the influence of pharmaceuticals in the water cycle including surface water, wastewater, groundwater and drinking water. Their environmental impact is possible from many sources, whereby the majority of pollutants are released from industrial plants for pharmaceutical production, wastewater treatment plants, hospitals, animal farms, dumpsites. Although the presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment is relatively small, the impact on the environment is much greater due to its persistent character. The remains of drugs or their degradable products after sewage treatment were found in outlets, surface and groundwater, water and soil. Problems associated with the presence of environmental drugs include disorders of physiological processes and reproductive function of the organism, development of resistant bacteria, and increased toxicity of some pharmaceutically active substances. The advantage of wastewater from the pharmaceutical industry is their well-known composition, which makes it possible to target water treatment to meet the statutory requirements. This paper describes the source and influence of pharmaceuticals in the environment, chemical properties, and it gives an overview of the most commonly used wastewater treatment methods, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each process