The low-level presence of emerging contaminants (ECs) in the environment has raised a great concern due to their persistence, chronic toxicological, and endocrine disrupting effects on terrestrial and aquatic organisms. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have become hotspots for the spread of these contaminants to the environment as conventional processes are not efficient in removing them. Thus, the integration of advanced treatment methods within the chain of WWTPs is very essential. In this study, the innovative hybrid process USAMe® which integrates ultrasound irradiation (US), adsorption (A) and membrane filtration (Me) was investigated for the removal of ECs from secondary effluents. Diclofenac, carbamazepine, and amoxicillin were selected due to their large consumption and frequent presence in the aquatic environment. All three ECs were spiked into real secondary wastewater effluent at two concentrations of 10 ppm and 100 ppb. Membrane ultrafiltration and its combination with US (USMe) or adsorption (AMe) were also studied as control tests. The hybrid combination of all the three methods in the USAMe® processes elevated the EC removals to above 99% as compared to only around 90% in the AMe process. All effluents of the hybrid USAMe® processes gave “No Effect” to D. magna, with immobilization of ≤20%. Therefore, results showed that the USAMe® process was efficient in not only removing ECs, but also in generating safe and less toxic treated effluents; thereby displaying its potential as an advanced method for wastewater treatment.

由于环境污染物的持久性，慢性毒理学和内分泌干扰对陆生和水生生物的影响，因此环境中低水平的存在引起了人们的极大关注。废水处理厂（WWTP）已成为将这些污染物散布到环境中的热点，因为常规工艺无法有效去除这些污染物。因此，在污水处理厂链中整合先进的治疗方法非常重要。在这项研究中，研究了创新的混合工艺USAMe®，该工艺结合了超声辐射（US），吸附（A）和膜过滤（Me）来去除次要废水中的EC。选择双氯芬酸，卡马西平和阿莫西林是因为它们的大量食用和在水生环境中的频繁存在。所有三个EC均以10 ppm和100 ppb的两种浓度掺入真实的二级废水中。还研究了膜超滤及其与US（USMe）或吸附（AMe）的组合。USAMe®工艺中这三种方法的混合组合将EC去除率提高到99％以上，而AMe工艺中只有90％左右。混合USAMe®工艺的所有流出物对马格纳酵母都没有影响，固定化率≤20％。因此，结果表明，USAMe®工艺不仅可以有效去除EC，而且还可以产生安全且毒性较小的经处理废水。从而显示出其作为废水处理的先进方法的潜力。还研究了膜超滤及其与US（USMe）或吸附（AMe）的结合作为对照测试。USAMe®工艺中这三种方法的混合组合将EC去除率提高到99％以上，而AMe工艺中只有90％左右。混合USAMe®工艺的所有流出物对马格纳酵母都没有影响，固定化率≤20％。因此，结果表明，USAMe®工艺不仅可以有效去除EC，而且还可以产生安全且毒性较小的经处理废水。从而显示出其作为废水处理的先进方法的潜力。还研究了膜超滤及其与US（USMe）或吸附（AMe）的结合作为对照测试。USAMe®工艺中这三种方法的混合组合将EC去除率提高到99％以上，而AMe工艺中只有90％左右。混合USAMe®工艺的所有流出物对马格纳酵母都没有影响，固定化率≤20％。因此，结果表明，USAMe®工艺不仅有效去除了EC，而且还产生了安全且毒性较小的经处理废水。从而显示出其作为废水处理的先进方法的潜力。混合USAMe®工艺的所有流出物对马格纳酵母都没有影响，固定化率≤20％。因此，结果表明，USAMe®工艺不仅有效去除了EC，而且还产生了安全且毒性较小的经处理废水。从而显示出其作为废水处理的先进方法的潜力。混合USAMe®工艺的所有流出物对马格纳酵母都没有影响，固定化率≤20％。因此，结果表明，USAMe®工艺不仅有效去除了EC，而且还产生了安全且毒性较小的经处理废水。从而显示出其作为废水处理的先进方法的潜力。