Tamizaje de contaminantes en plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales de Costa Rica

Monitoring of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Costa Rica has traditionally focused on conventional parameters related to organic matter, nutrients, and solids. However, wastewater and its associated sludges may contain other contaminants of sanitary and environmental relevance, including human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, trace metals, and genetic markers associated with antimicrobial resistance, whose behavior throughout treatment processes has not been evaluated in an integrated manner at the national level. This knowledge gap limits understanding of their distribution between the liquid and solid phases, seasonal variability, and differences associated with treatment configurations operating under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
This project proposes an integrated contaminant screening for Costa Rican WWTPs by combining physicochemical, pharmacological, inorganic, and genetic analyses. The study will consider influent and unit-specific effluent samples, as well as sludge and sediment samples, collected during the dry and rainy seasons to compare the occurrence, concentrations, and seasonal variability of selected contaminants across two treatment configurations. In addition, liquid–solid partitioning and biomass-associated retention will be assessed by comparing contaminant concentrations in the aqueous phase and sludge along the treatment train.
Physicochemical characterization will provide relevant operational context for interpreting contaminant behavior. The pharmacological component will focus on the identification and quantification of selected pharmaceuticals, while the inorganic component will assess trace metals. Complementarily, the genetic component will enable the detection of markers associated with antimicrobial resistance in the solid matrix, facilitating an integrated interpretation of the system as a potential reservoir of contaminants.
The results of this project will contribute to the establishment of a national baseline on the presence and behavior of contaminants in wastewater and sludge from Costa Rican WWTPs, providing relevant information for tropical climates and serving as a foundation for strengthening environmental monitoring efforts and for future research on wastewater treatment technologies.

Caracterizar el comportamiento de contaminantes emergentes en plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales de Costa Rica mediante un enfoque integrado de análisis fisicoquímicos, farmacológicos y genéticos en las fases líquida y sólida (biomasa).

SOLUCIONES DE INGENIERÍA AMBIENTAL PARA EL DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE.