Occurrence, removal and release characteristics of dissolved brominated flame retardants and their potential metabolites in various kinds of wastewater

- PBDEs, HBCDs and TBBPA were analyzed in influent, effluent from various WWTPs.
- Predominant TBBPA in WWTPs was linked to its industrial usage and production volume.
- Removal efficiency was shown in order of PBDEs > HBCDs ≈ TBBPA > OH- and MeO-BDEs.
- Slight increase of OH- and MeO-BDEs observed in HWTP after treatment.

The dissolved phase compound and congener specific distribution characteristics of three widely used brominated flame retardants (BFRs) comprising 27 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), 12 hydroxylated and methoxylated metabolites (OH- and MeO-BDEs), 3 hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) were investigated in influents and effluents of various kinds of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), with varying source of wastewater and type of treatment, and nearby rivers in Korea. The concentration of total BFRs were the highest in industrial WWTPs nearby large industrial complexes specialized in heavy chemicals. The distribution of BFRs was differed according to composition of wastewater, with predominance of TBBPA in WWTPs with higher portion of inflowing industrial wastewater. Among HBCD diastereomers, γ-HBCD was dominant in industrial wastewater as consistent to the previous reports, however, similar contribution of α- and γ-HBCD was found in sewage and human wastewater. Through treatment process, PBDEs were the most effectively removed with a mean removal efficiency of 68.3%. HBCDs and TBBPA had removal efficiencies of 41.3% and 48.7%, respectively. The lowest removal efficiency (10.3%) was observed for PBDE metabolites and their concentration in effluent of human wastewater was even increased at maximum 1.9 fold compared with influent, implying the possibility of transformation during treatment. The estimated dissolved phase daily load of PBDEs was highest in sewage while that of TBBPA was highest in industrial wastewater.

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