| Abstract:
During manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, wastewaters are generated which have varying characteristics. These wastewaters are treated either on-site or off-site prior to discharge to a body of water. Treatability studies are generally conducted on wastewaters generated during the developmental stages of the drug, in order to have adequate information for the design of wastewater treatment plant, if necessary, and/or in preparation for the receipt of larger quantity of wastewaters generated during commercial manufacturing. Treatability studies are conducted for two main reasons: 1) to estimate the impact of wastewaters on existing treatment processes, and 2) to evaluate if special treatment is needed for the wastewater.
One case study where treatability studies were performed was on an anti-fungal agent. Given the characteristics of the anti-fungal, it has the potential to accumulate with the activated sludge and possibly impair the performance of the process. Additionally, the sludge generated at the plant is disposed at the local publicly-owned treatment works (POTW), where it is combined with the POTW sludges and composted. Hereto, there is a potential impact on the composting process. Bench-scale evaluations were conducted to determine the impact of the anti-fungal agent on the biological treatment process, simulated for conditions at a Schering-Plough facility, and the municipal compost operations that process the plant's sludges. In addition, method development for the anti-fungal agent in a sludge/soils matrix was done. Based on the observed performance data, it was concluded that the addition of anti-fungal agent did not impact the performance of the activated sludge systems, including the nitrification process. The activated sludge studies indicated that the anti-fungal agent is biodegradable and absorbed into sludge. Based on direct measurements of the active agent, a mass balance suggested that approximately 70% removal was accomplished through the system. Due to negligible vapor pressure, it is assumed that there are no losses via volatilization. The presence of anti-fungal agent in a composting environment did not appear to impact the process. Based on an observed increase in oxygen utilization and reduction in volatile solids, both the control and anti-fungal-spiked compost systems had an active biomass that was stabilizing the waste material.
|
