Efficiency of primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment processes in the removal of priority contaminants in wastewater
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63688/dk9c8130Keywords:
Wastewater treatment, Priority pollutants, Removal efficiency, Advanced technologies, Tertiary processesAbstract
Wastewater management faces the growing challenge of eliminating not only organic load and conventional solids, but also priority pollutants such as drugs, pesticides, heavy metals and endocrine disruptors, whose presence compromises environmental and human health. The objective of this study was to analyze the efficiency of primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment processes in the removal of these contaminants, through a systematic literature review. A search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, PubMed, and SciELO, applying inclusion criteria that considered studies published between 2015 and 2025, with clearly differentiated efficiency data by treatment stage. Of 285 initial registrations, 21 articles were selected for qualitative synthesis. The results show that primary treatments have a limited role against priority pollutants, while secondary treatments improve the removal of organic matter and some nutrients, although with variability depending on technology and operating conditions. Tertiary processes, especially advanced oxidation, adsorption, and membranes, achieve efficiencies in excess of 90% for various micropollutants. It is concluded that the integration of hybrid systems and advanced technologies, together with investment policies and technical strengthening, is essential to optimize wastewater treatment and mitigate the impacts of priority pollutants.
References
Barrantes Barrantes, E. A., & Cartín Núñez, M. (2017). Eficacia del tratamiento de aguas residuales de la Universidad de Costa Rica en la Sede de Occidente, San Ramón, Costa Rica. Cuadernos de Investigación UNED, 9(1), 193–197. https://www.redalyc.org/journal/5156/515653587026/html/
Belete, B., Desye, B., & Yenew, C. (2023). Micropollutant removal efficiency of advanced wastewater treatment plants: A systematic review. Environmental Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1177/11786302231195158
Cáceres Pom, D. K., Calisaya Vera, G. M., & Bedoya-Justo, E. (2021). Eficiencia de Eisenia foetida, Eichornia crassipes e hipoclorito de calcio en la depuración de aguas residuales domésticas en Moquegua, Perú. Ecología Aplicada, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.21704/rea.v20i1.1692
Caldera, Y., Gutiérrez, E., Luengo, M., Chávez, J., & Ruesga, L. (2010). Evaluación del sistema de tratamiento de aguas residuales de industria avícola. Revista Científica (Maracaibo), 20(4). https://ve.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0798-22592010000400011
Englande, A. J., Jr., Krenkel, P., & Shamas, J. (2015). Wastewater treatment & water reclamation. Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.09508-7
Humanante Cabrera, J. J., Moreno Alcívar, L. C., Grijalva-Endara, A., Saldoya Tinedo, R. W., & Suárez Tomalá, J. A. (2022). Eficiencia de remoción e impacto del sistema de tratamiento de aguas residuales del sector urbano y rural de la Provincia de Santa Elena. Manglar, 19(2), 177–187. https://doi.org/10.17268/manglar.2022.022
Longo, S., Hospido, A., & Mauricio-Iglesias, M. (2023). Energy efficiency in wastewater treatment plants: A framework for benchmarking method selection and application. Journal of Environmental Management, 344, 118624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118624
Malacatus, P., Chamorro, E., & Orellana, G. (2016). Análisis de eficiencia de remoción de contaminantes de los sistemas de tratamiento de aguas residuales en extracción de aceite de palma. FIGEMPA: Investigación y Desarrollo, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.29166/revfig.v1i2.888
Nava-Rojas, J., Lango-Reynoso, F., Castañeda-Chávez, M. del R., & Reyes-Velázquez, C. (2023). Remoción de contaminantes en los humedales artificiales de flujo subsuperficial: Una revisión. Terra Latinoamericana, 41(4). https://doi.org/10.28940/terra.v41i0.1715
Nishmitha, P. S., Akhilghosh, K. A., Aiswarya, P. V., Ramesh, A., Muthuchamy, M., & Muthukumar, A. (2025). Understanding emerging contaminants in water and wastewater: A comprehensive review on detection, impacts, and solutions. Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, 18, 100755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hazadv.2025.100755
Ortega Ramírez, A. T., & Sánchez Rodríguez, N. (2021). Tratamientos avanzados para la potabilización de aguas residuales. Ciencia e Ingeniería Neogranadina, 31(2), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.18359/rcin.5343
Ortiz Montero, S. A., Núñez Aldás, G. W., López Arboleda, A. G., & Frías Torres, A. X. (2021). La depuración de aguas residuales. Estudios de soluciones para el municipio de Ambato, Ecuador. Conciencia Digital, 4(13). https://doi.org/10.33262/concienciadigital.v4i3.1803
Phan, L. T., Schaar, H., Reif, D., Weilguni, S., Saracevic, E., Krampe, J., Behnisch, P. A., & Kreuzinger, N. (2021). Long-term toxicological monitoring of a multibarrier advanced wastewater treatment plant comprising ozonation and granular activated carbon with in vitro bioassays. Water, 13(22), 3245. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13223245
Rahman, S. M., Eckelman, M. J., Onnis-Hayden, A., & Gu, A. Z. (2018). Comparative life cycle assessment of advanced wastewater treatment processes for removal of chemicals of emerging concern. Environmental Science & Technology, 52(19), 11321–11330. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b02060
Rollano Quintana, M. E. (2021). Tratamiento de aguas residuales en Bolivia. REDIELUZ, 11(1), 122–131.
Santos, J., Rodrigues, S., Magalhães, M., Rodrigues, K., Pereira, L., & Marinho, G. (2024). A state-of-the-art review (2019–2023) on constructed wetlands for greywater treatment and reuse. Environmental Challenges, 16, 100973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2024.100973
Sturm, M. T., Myers, E., Schober, D., Thege, C., Korzin, A., & Schühen, K. (2022). Adaptable process design as a key for sustainability upgrades in wastewater treatment: Comparative study on the removal of micropollutants by advanced oxidation and granular activated carbon processing at a German municipal wastewater treatment plant. Sustainability, 14(18), 11605. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811605
Torres Guerra, J. D., Magno Vargas, J. S., Pineda Aguirre, R. R., & Cruz Huaranga, M. A. (2018). Evaluación de la eficiencia en el tratamiento de aguas residuales para riego mediante humedales artificiales de flujo libre superficial con especies Cyperus papyrus y Phragmites australis. Revista de Investigación Ciencia, Tecnología y Desarrollo, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.17162/rictd.v1i2.954
Völker, J., Stapf, M., Miehe, U., & Wagner, M. (2019). Systematic review of toxicity removal by advanced wastewater treatment technologies via ozonation and activated carbon. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(13), 7215–7227. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b01290
Yupanqui Pacheco, K., Espinoza Rojas, W. I., Allhua Lozano, B. J., & Cornejo Tueros, J. V. (2024). Reingeniería y optimización de los procesos de la planta de tratamientos de aguas residuales “Doris Mendoza”. Prohominum, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.47606/acven/ph0233
Zahmatkesh, S., Bokhari, A., Karimian, M., et al. (2022). Una revisión exhaustiva de diversos enfoques para el tratamiento de aguas residuales terciarias con contaminantes emergentes: ¿Qué sabemos? Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 194, 884. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10503-z
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Wilson Ángel Gutiérrez Rodríguez (Autor/a)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
El artículo se distribuye bajo la Licencia Creative Commons Atribución 4.0 . Salvo que se indique lo contrario, el material publicado asociado se distribuye bajo la misma licencia.
