Various types of micropollutants, e.g., pharmaceuticals and their metabolites and resistant strains of pathogenic microorganisms, are usually found in hospital wastewaters. The aim of this paper was to study the presence of 74 frequently used pharmaceuticals, legal and illegal drugs, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 5 hospital wastewaters in Slovakia and Czechia and to compare the efficiency of several advanced oxidations processes (AOPs) for sanitation and treatment of such highly polluted wastewaters. The occurrence of micropollutants and antibiotic-resistant bacteria was investigated by in-line SPE-LC-MS/MS technique and cultivation on antibiotic and antibiotic-free selective diagnostic media, respectively. The highest maximum concentrations were found for cotinine (6700 ng/L), bisoprolol (5200 ng/L), metoprolol (2600 ng/L), tramadol (2400 ng/L), sulfamethoxazole (1500 ng/L), and ranitidine (1400 ng/L). In the second part of the study, different advanced oxidation processes, modified Fenton reaction, ferrate(VI), and oxidation by boron-doped diamond electrode were tested in order to eliminate the abovementioned pollutants. Obtained results indicate that the modified Fenton reaction and application of boron-doped diamond electrode were able to eliminate almost the whole spectrum of selected micropollutants with efficiency higher than 90%. All studied methods achieved complete removal of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria present in hospital wastewaters.

Department of Analytical Chemistry Faculty of Natural Sciences Comenius University in Bratislava Mlynská dolina Ilkovičova 6 SK 842 15 Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Inorganic Technology Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology Slovak University of Technology Radlinského 9 812 37 Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Wood Pulp and Paper Institute of Natural and Synthetic Polymers Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology Slovak University of Technology Radlinského 9 812 37 Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Zoology and Fisheries Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Kamýcka 129 CZ 165 00 Praha 6 Suchdol Czech Republic

Institute of Chemical and Environmental Engineering Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology Slovak University of Technology Radlinského 9 812 37 Bratislava Slovakia

Institute of Electronics and Photonics Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava Ilkovičova 3 SK 812 19 Bratislava Slovakia

Institute of Food Science and Nutrition Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology Slovak University of Technology Radlinského 9 812 37 Bratislava Slovakia

Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials Šlechtitelů 27 CZ 783 71 Olomouc Czech Republic

South Bohemian Research Centre of Aquaculture and Biodiversity of Hydrocenoses Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice Zatisi 728 2 CZ 389 01 Vodnany Czech Republic

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