Two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Istanbul have been studied to determine the concentrations of selected micropollutants in raw wastewater as well as their seasonal change throughout the WWTPs both of which have biological nutrient removal. The main difference in the WWTPs is that one of them receives domestic wastewater (400 000 m<sup>3</sup>/d) whereas the second WWTP receives municipal wastewater including wastewater from an organized industrial zone having tanneries (300 000 m<sup>3</sup>/d). Although the conventional water quality parameters including COD, TKN and DOC are similar for both WWTPs, concentrations of some micropollutants such as atenolol, BPA, caffeine, naproxen, carbamazepine and ciprofloxacin were several times higher in one WWTP. The removal efficiencies did also not always follow the same trend. For example, caffeine, paraxanthine and naproxen had &gt;90% removal in both WWTPs whereas the removal efficiency for hydroxydiclofenac was &lt;15% in both WWTPs. On the other hand, BPA was removed with 99% efficiency in one WWTP and its concentration did not change in the other WWTP. In addition, concentrations of some pharmaceuticals such as carbamazepine increased in the WWTPs suggesting the possible conversion of conjugated (and hence undetected forms) being converted to unconjugated forms in the WWTP. This study provides one of the first data on the presence of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites in WWTP in Istanbul where pharmaceuticals including antibiotics are more easily accessible compared with other countries. This substantial data uncovers valuable information on fate of micropollutants throughout WWTPs. The concentration of most pharmaceuticals including antibiotics in the effluent were in the range of 100-1000 ng/L suggesting the possibility of adverse effects such as antibiotic resistance upon their discharge into the environment (Figure 1).

Fate of micropollutants in high-capacity wastewater treatment plants in Istanbul metropolitan area

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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