Bisphenol a in wastewater and sewage sludge from five wastewater treatment plants of Guilin, China

Bisphenol A (BPA), as one typical endocrine disrupting compound, has been ubiquitously detected in the aquatic environment, soil and sediment, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are the main pollution sources. In this study, an optimized analytical method, which included the following procedures: microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), solid phase extraction (SPE), derivatiza-tion, and analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), was developed to detect BPA in wastewater and sludge collected from five WWTPs in Guilin. The concentrations of BPA were in the range of: 407-1363 ng L^-1 for influent, 72-395 ng L^-1 for effluent, and 182-413 ng g^-1 for excess sludge. Except plant E, the other four plants could obtain good removal efficiency (77-88%), and a large proportion (89.2%) of residual BPA entered into the environment via the effluent. The total annual amounts of BPA, released and discharged into the environment through the effluent and excess sludge, were estimated to be about 20104.2 and 2441.85 g of one year in Guilin. Further research was needed to focus on the environmental behavior and potential health risks of BPA in the receiving water and the sludge.