Emissions of nanosilver and its behavior in wastewater treatment plants

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1 Emissions of nanosilver and its behavior in wastewater treatment plants Michael Burkhardt*, Steffen Zuleeg, Markus Boller Eawag, Urban Water Managment Ralf Kägi, Brian Sinnet, Jakob Eugster, Hansruedi Siegrist Eawag, Process Engineering * Contact: michael.burkhardt@hsr.ch

2 Nanosilver What we know? Silver species (AgCl, Ag 0, etc.) used for antimicrobial control are regulated by European Biocidal Product Directive (BPD) Free silver ions (Ag + ) control microbes Main nano species in use is silver chloride (>90% AgCl) What we do not know? Amounts of market volumes and relevance Emissions to soil and water Behavior in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) Risk to humans and the environment uncertain

3 Studies on Emission and Fate 1. Emission by an industrial laundry 2. Influence on nitrification in activated sludge (four silver products investigated) 3. Mass balance in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP: pilot-plant and municipal treatment plant Silver Products Size Product (nm) Silver nitrate AgNO Colloidal Nanosilver A nag-a 5-50 AgPure WS10 Colloidal Nanosilver B nag-b 5-50 SmartSilver Pro Particulate Silver Chloride AgCl isys AG Microcomposite-Silver Micro 5-50 HeiQ AGS-20

4 1. Emission from Laundry AgCl additive used for cotton

5 Discharge of Nanosilver Silver (µg/l) Silver Chloride 0 14:00 18:00 22:00 04:00 08:00 12:00 Time (h) Chloride (mg/l) - Annual load kg/a in discharge - Predicted silver concentration in WWTP mg/kg TS

6 Sample Preparation Silver (µ/l) Probe 1 Probe 2 Untreated Filtration Ultra centrifugation - Filtration (0.45 µm): 40% elimination - Ultra centrifugation: 40% Elimination

7 Detection of Nanosilver by SEM-EDX Ag often associated with sulfur signal (no chloride)

8 2. Influence on Nitrification in Activated Sludge Nitrification in real activated sludge Addition of 5 Silver products (1, 100 mg/l) Exposure 2 hours and 6 days Ammonium degradation compared with reference reactor 20 mg/l NH 4 -N Silver 3 L batch-reactor with activated sludge Temperature (+20 C) Air

9 Inhibition Test Results Addition of 1 mg/l Ag (250 mg Ag/kg dry matter) Addition of 100 mg/l Ag (25,000 mg Ag/kg dry matter) hours Relative Nitrification (%) days 0 0 AgNO 3 nag-a Micro Mikro AgCl nag-b AgNO 3 nag-a Mikro Micro AgCl nag-b Nanosilver has no impact on nitrification under realistic conditions (real wastewater sludge, concentrations)

10 3. Mass Balance in WWTP Pilot-Plant (70 equivalent inhabitants) Influent: 1 m 3 /h wastewater, directly from combined sewer Activated sludge: 12 days age, 3 g/l dry matter Silver addition (nag-a, AgCl): 25 days continuously Influent (1 m 3 )from Primary Clarifier Activated Sludge Non-Aerated(7m 3 ) Silver Addition Activated Sludge Aerated (7 m 3 ) Sludge Sampling Secondary Clarifier (11 m 3 ) Effluent Becken 1 Sludge Excess Effluent Sampling Sludge Backflow

11 Silver Concentration (AgCl) Silver Addition Recovery Time Silver Addition (µg/l) 3'000 2'000 1' Inital Pulse Addition (2400 µg/l Ag) Continous Addition (200 µg/l Ag) 6'000 Silver in Effluent (µg/l) Effluent Sludge 5'000 4'000 3'000 2'000 1'000 Silver in Sludge (µg/l) Time (d) 0

12 Cumulative Silver Load Silver Addition Recovery Time 100 Cumulative Load (%) nag-a AgCl Effluent Sludge Time (d) Efficient elimination of nanosilver in WWTP

13 Nanosilver Mass Balance Addition of AgCl Sludge 96% Effluent, 4% Addition of nag-a Sludge 93% Not Detected, 1% Effluent, 6% Correlation between mass flow of nanosilver and suspended solids (dry matter)

14 Aerated Sludge nag-a in sludge flocs

15 Effluent nag-a in sludge flocs

16 Tertiary Treatment (Filtration) Silver TSS Elimination (%) Tage Efficient elimination of nanosilver in WWTP

17 Effluent EDX of silver particles (after addition of AgCl) C O Counts (-) S Ag Energy(KeV) Nanosilver is present as silver sulfide

18 Mass Flow in Real WWTP (70,000 E.I.)

19 Sampling in WWTP Biology Secondary Clarifier Secondary Treatment (Nitrification) Tertiary Treatment (Sandfilter) Influent Bar Screen Settling Tank Primary Treatment Opfikon Kloten + Digested Sludge Effluent Effluent

20 Occurrence of Silver in WWTP Sample 1 Silver Influent Effluent Sludge Opfikon* Kloten** (µg/l) 1 Ag (μg/l) % 94% 2 Ag (μg/l) % 98% 3 Ag (μg/l) % 99% 4 Ag (μg/l) % 99% 1 Sampling under conditions of dry weather flow Excellent elimination of nanosilver confirmed * Worst-case situation: nanosilver from industrial laundry ** Corresponding to background concentration

21 Conclusions Nanosilver Emission Small amounts release into aquatic systems (paints, finishing) Release as micrometer composites or attached to larger particles Nanosilver in wastewater Low influent concentrations (under worst-case conditions) No effect on nitrification Excellent elimination in WWTP (95-99%; CH micropollutants: >80%) Attached to sludge flocs (filtration possible) Rapid transformation to insoluble silver sulfide Annual emission per capita 4-40 mg/a Ag General remark Lab conditions give limited insight to environmental behavior Which applications in contact with water really exists?

22 Acknowledgements Funding Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Berne, Switzerland Office for Waste, Water, Energy and Air (AWEL), Zürich, Switzerland

23 Thank you for your attention!