The concentrations of the pharmaceuticals in tap water, influent and effluent wastewater and the treatment efficiencya.
| Compounds | Tap water (ng L−1) | Samples 1 | Samples 2 | Samples 3 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effluent (ng L−1) | Influent (ng L−1) | Removal percentage (%) | Effluent (ng L−1) | Influent (ng L−1) | Removal percentage (%) | Effluent (ng L−1) | Influent (ng L−1) | Removal percentage (%) | ||
| Acetaminophen | ND | 343 ± 2 | 23 736 ± 11 | 98 | 28 ± 1 | 49 424 ± 18 | 99 | 330 ± 2 | 14 359 ± 6 | 97 |
| Caffeine | ND | 1763 ± 8 | 4708 ± 15 | 62 | 1016.9 ± 0.7 | 7440 ± 7 | 86 | 1129 ± 9 | 3629 ± 11 | 68 |
| Diclofenac | ND | 164.9 ± 0.9 | 99.5 ± 0.4 | −65 | 54.0 ± 0.6 | 101.0 ± 0.3 | 46 | 109.6 ± 0.6 | 112.4 ± 0.6 | 2 |
| Ibuprofen | ND | 261 ± 1 | 270 ± 2 | 3 | 41.8 ± 0.9 | 51 ± 2 | 18 | 202 ± 3 | 438 ± 7 | 53 |
| Mefenamic acid | ND | 678 ± 5 | 504 ± 3 | −34 | 89.2 ± 0.9 | 259.2 ± 0.6 | 65 | 468 ± 6 | 518 ± 3 | 9 |
| Metformin | ND | 640 ± 3 | 2330 ± 6 | 72 | 1203.0 ± 0.8 | 7695 ± 1 | 84 | 390.4 ± 0.8 | 1421 ± 4 | 72 |
| Nifedipine | ND | 26.3 ± 0.4 | 30.9 ± 0.2 | 14 | 33.5 ± 0.2 | 445.2 ± 0.2 | 92 | ND | ND | — |
| Perindopril | ND | 112.3 ± 0.8 | 82.2 ± 0.5 | −36 | 81.7 ± 0.5 | 252.1 ± 0.5 | 67 | ND | ND | — |
| Salbutamol | ND | 90.1 ± 0.4 | 110.6 ± 0.4 | 18 | 41.7 ± 0.3 | 71.0 ± 0.3 | 41 | 35.3 ± 0.4 | 45.0 ± 0.2 | 21 |
| Simvastatin | ND | 132 ± 5 | 5254 ± 12 | 97 | 220 ± 2 | 11 809 ± 13 | 98 | 82 ± 2 | 1719 ± 6 | 95 |
a
ND: not detected.