N,N-Dimethyldithiocarbamate(DMDTC) is a typical precursor of N-nitrosodimethylamine(NDMA). Based on separate hydrolysis, sorption and biodegradation studies of DMDTC, a laboratory-scale anaerobic-anoxic-oxic(AAO) system was established to investigate the removal mechanism of DMDTC in this nutrient removal biological treatment system. DMDTC hydrolyzed easily in water solution under either acidic conditions or strong alkaline conditions, and dimethylamine(DMA) was the main hydrolysate. Under anaerobic, anoxic or oxic conditions, DMDTC was biodegraded and completely mineralized. Furthermore, DMA was the main intermediate in DMDTC biodegradation. In the AAO system, the optimal conditions for both nutrient and DMDTC removal were hydraulic retention time 8 hr, sludge retention time 20 day, mixed-liquor return ratio 3:1 and sludge return ratio 1:1. Under these conditions, the removal efficiency of DMDTC reached 99.5%; the removal efficiencies of chemical organic demand, ammonium nitrogen, total nitrogen and total phosphorus were 90%, 98%, 81% and 93%, respectively. Biodegradation is the dominant mechanism for DMDTC removal in the AAO system, which was elucidated as consisting of two steps: first, DMDTC is transformed to DMA in the anaerobic and anoxic units, and then DMA is mineralized to CO2 and NH3 in the anoxic and oxic units. The mineralization of DMDTC in the biological treatment system can effectively avoid the formation of NDMA during subsequent disinfection processes.
Detection of estrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds(EDCs) and N-nitrosodimethylamine(NDMA) in drinking water has led to rising concerns. There are, however, a paucity of studies on the distribution and seasonal variation of NDMA and NDMA formation potential(NDMA-FP) in natural waters, especially in China. For EDCs, limited studies have investigated the distribution and seasonal variation of estrone(E1), 17β-estradiol(E2), estriol(E3), 17α-ethinylestradiol(EE2), technical-nonylphenols(t-NP), and bisphenol A(BPA) in Shanghai. In this study, water samples were collected from 11 sampling sites along the Huangpu River in 2012. The distribution and seasonal variation of EDCs, NDMA, and NDMA-FP were investigated. The results showed that all of the 11 sampling sites were contaminated by the target compounds. Compared with E2 and EE2, higher E1 and E3 concentrations were usually detected in the Huangpu River. The values of 17β-estradiol equivalents(EEQ) suggest a high possibility of endocrine effects on exposed organisms in the Huangpu River. NDMA-FP and t-NP were the dominant contaminants among the eight target compounds. The detection rates of the target compounds and their concentrations were both higher in dry seasons than in wet seasons. Higher concentrations of target compounds were observed in urban sampling sites near drainage outlets, and also in suburban sampling sites where intensive livestock farming and farmlands were located.
