Estimation of pharmaceutical residues in primary and secondary sewage sludge based on quantities of use and fugacity modelling.

A general procedure was developed for estimating the concentrations of pharmaceutical residues in fresh primary and secondary sewage sludge. Prescribed quantities coupled with information on the various excretion ratios of 20 pharmaceuticals and 2 of their metabolites enabled prediction of the overall rates of excretion into Australian sewage. Fugacity modelling was applied to predict concentrations of these residues in fresh primary and secondary sludge. Predicted concentrations ranged from 10(-3)-884 microg/L in primary sludge and 10(-4)-36 microg/L in secondary sludge. Overall rates of removal to sludges ranged from 1-39%. The accuracy of the model was verified by comparison to analytical data.