TCAs are known to be toxicants and endocrine disrupting agents. Generally, after being used, TCAs are passed through wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to be treated. However, still trace amounts (ng/L to μg/L) of TCAs have been founded even in the treated water. Therefore, the aim of this study is to elucidate the environmental behaviors of TCAs in the sewage water from WWTPs (Jeonju, Korea). For the experiments, seven TCAs (amitriptyline, imipramine, clomipramine, desipramine, protriptyline, nortriptyline, and doxepin) were selected. Hydrolysibility, biodegradability, and adsorbability of the selected seven TCAs were evaluated. Based on the results, it was concluded that TCAs are not readily hydrolyzed in water and also not biodegraded by aerobic sludge. The 60% to 85% of TCAs were adsorbed immediately onto the activated sludge within 1 s via electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. It was clearly observed that adsorption affinities were dependent on the types of activated sludge (i.e. anaerobic and aerobic sludge). The affinities of aerobic and anaerobic sludge towards the TCAs at trace concentrations e.g., 1 to 10 μg/L, were estimated to be in the range from 0.021 ± 0.000 to 0.087 ± 0.000 L/μg and from 0.001 ± 0.000 to 0.108 ± 0.001 L/μg, respectively.

已知三氯乙酸是有毒物质和破坏内分泌的药物。通常，TCA在使用后会通过废水处理厂（WWTP）进行处理。但是，即使在处理过的水中，仍发现了痕量（ng / L至μg/ L）三氯乙酸。因此，本研究的目的是阐明污水处理厂污水中三氯乙酸的环境行为（韩国全州市）。对于实验，选择了七个TCA（阿米替林，丙咪嗪，氯米帕明，地昔帕明，普鲁替林，去甲替林和多塞平）。评价了所选七个TCA的水解性，生物降解性和吸附性。根据结果​​，可以得出结论，三氯乙酸不易在水中水解，也不会被好氧污泥生物降解。60％到85％的TCA通过静电和疏水作用在1 s内立即吸附到活性污泥上。可以清楚地看到，吸附亲和力取决于活性污泥（厌氧和好氧污泥）的类型。在1至10μg/ L的痕量浓度下，好氧和厌氧污泥对TCA的亲和力估计为0.021±0.000至0.087±0.000 L /μg和0.001±0.000至0.108±0.001 L /μg。