Abstract：
Efforts in water ecosystem conservation require an understanding of causative factors and removal efficacies associated with mixture toxicity during wastewater treatment. This study conducts a comprehensive investigation into the interplay between wastewater estrogenic activity and 30 estrogen-like endocrine disrupting chemicals (EEDCs) across 12 municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) spanning four seasons in China. Results reveal substantial estrogenic activity in all WWTPs and potential endocrine-disrupting risks in over 37.5 % of final effluent samples, with heightened effects during colder seasons. While phthalates are the predominant EEDCs (concentrations ranging from 86.39 %) for both estrogenic activity and major EEDCs (phthalates and estrogens), with the secondary and tertiary treatment segments contributing 88.59 ± 8.12 % and 11.41 ± 8.12 %, respectively. Among various secondary treatment processes, the anaerobic/anoxic/oxic-membrane bioreactor (A/A/O-MBR) excels in removing both estrogenic activity and EEDCs. In tertiary treatment, removal efficiencies increase with the inclusion of components involving physical, chemical, and biological removal principles. Furthermore, correlation and multiple liner regression analysis establish a significant (p < 0.05) positive association between solid retention time (SRT) and removal efficiencies of estrogenic activity and EEDCs within WWTPs. This study provides valuable insights from the perspective of prioritizing key pollutants, the necessity of integrating more efficient secondary and tertiary treatment processes, along with adjustments to operational parameters like SRT, to mitigate estrogenic activity in municipal WWTPs. This contribution aids in managing endocrine-disrupting risks in wastewater as part of ecological conservation efforts.
摘要：
水生态系统保护的努力需要了解与废水处理过程中混合物毒性相关的致病因素和去除效率。这项研究对中国四个季节的12个市政污水处理厂（WWTP）的废水雌激素活性与30种雌激素样内分泌干扰化学物质（EEDCs）之间的相互作用进行了全面调查。结果显示，所有污水处理厂都有大量的雌激素活性，超过37.5%的最终污水样本存在潜在的内分泌干扰风险。在寒冷的季节具有增强的效果。虽然邻苯二甲酸酯是主要的EEDC（浓度范围从86.39％），二级和三级治疗段的贡献率为88.59±8.12%和11.41±8.12%，分别。在各种二级处理工艺中，厌氧/缺氧/氧膜生物反应器（A/A/O-MBR）擅长去除雌激素活性和EEDC。在三级治疗中，去除效率随着包含涉及物理、化学,和生物去除原则。此外，相关性和多元线性回归分析建立了固体保留时间（SRT）与WWTP内雌激素活性和EEDC的去除效率之间的显着正相关（p<0.05）。这项研究从优先考虑关键污染物的角度提供了有价值的见解，整合更有效的二级和三级处理工艺的必要性，随着SRT等操作参数的调整，减轻市政污水处理厂的雌激素活性。作为生态保护工作的一部分，这一贡献有助于管理废水中的内分泌干扰风险。
