Occurrence and removal of organic pollutants by a combined analysis using GC-MS with spectral analysis and acute toxicity

The presence of xenobiotic compounds especially organic micro-pollutants in municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP) is a major concern worldwide. The occurrence and removal of trace organic pollutants in a MWWTP by a combined analysis using GC-MS with spectral analysis and acute toxicity were studied in this work. Non-target screening and toxicity analysis of organic compounds were conducted to understand the types of toxic and refractory pollutants in municipal wastewater and evaluated the toxicity removal efficiency of MWWTP. The results showed that most of the effects were significantly reduced or completely eliminated during the wastewater treatment process, while some compounds, such as antioxidants, drugs, and organic plasticizers, had detection rates of up to 100% at each site, indicating that these harmful substances remained throughout wastewater treatment process. Based on Pearson correlation analysis, paired correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between UV254, humification index, conventional parameters, and organic acute toxicity, while acute toxicity was negatively correlated with biological index and fluorescence index. The results indicated that the composition of MWWTP had a similar influence law in different locations, and the combination of spectral analysis provided a new insight to qualitatively and quantitatively showed the distribution of organic pollutants in the wastewater treatment system. •A comprehensive approach for the organic pollutants screening was proposed.•Behaviors of organic pollutants in treatment processes were characterized.•The fate of identified organic pollutants was described.•Water quality indexes correlation with acute toxicity were revealed.