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Kyung-duk Zoh - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Occurrence and Fate of Micropollutants in Private Wastewater Treatment Facility (WTF) and Their Impact on Receiving Water
Environmental Management, 2019Co-Authors: Young-min Kang, Moon-kyung Kim, Tae-kyoung Kim, Taeyeon Kim, Kyung-duk ZohAbstract:HighlightsThe removal of Micropollutants in sewage treatment tanks (STTs) was examined. The composition of Micropollutants in STT influents showed little regional variation. STT effluent was the major source of Micropollutants on the receiving river. The per capita discharge load of target Micropollutants in STTs was calculated. National emission load of Micropollutants from private STTs was calculated.AbstractThis study investigated the occurrence and removals of Micropollutants in the sewage treatment tank (STT) which is a typical private wastewater treatment facility used in the rural communities in Korea, and their impact on receiving water. STTs were selected in eight provinces to examine the regional difference in the composition of Micropollutant occurrence. We measured ten selected Micropollutants in influents and effluents of STTs, as well as upstream and downstream of its receiving surface water. The dominant Micropollutants in the influent of the STTs were caffeine (13,346 ng/L), acetaminophen (11,331 ng/L), ibuprofen (1440 ng/L), and naproxen (1313 ng/L), in agreement with the amounts produced annually in Korea. In the effluent, caffeine (1912 ng/L), acetaminophen (1586 ng/L), naproxen (475 ng/L), and ibuprofen (389 ng/L) were detected in relatively high concentrations. The composition of Micropollutants in STT influents showed little regional variation by provinces, suggesting that the consumption pattern of these Micropollutants did not show regional variation. The removal efficiencies of the selected Micropollutants at the STTs ranged from 12% (carbamazepine) to 88% (acetaminophen), lower than typical removal by sewage treatment plants (STPs). This result is probably due to the automatic operation systems and simple treatment processes in STTs compared with STPs. The concentrations of selected Micropollutants upstream of the receiving water were generally lower compared with those observed downstream, indicating that effluent from STTs was the main source. The per capita discharge loads of STTs and annual emissions rates (kg/year) from private wastewater treatment facilities were estimated for the selected Micropollutants.
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Occurrence and Fate of Micropollutants in Private Wastewater Treatment Facility (WTF) and Their Impact on Receiving Water
Environmental management, 2019Co-Authors: Young-min Kang, Moon-kyung Kim, Tae-kyoung Kim, Taeyeon Kim, Kyung-duk ZohAbstract:This study investigated the occurrence and removals of Micropollutants in the sewage treatment tank (STT) which is a typical private wastewater treatment facility used in the rural communities in Korea, and their impact on receiving water. STTs were selected in eight provinces to examine the regional difference in the composition of Micropollutant occurrence. We measured ten selected Micropollutants in influents and effluents of STTs, as well as upstream and downstream of its receiving surface water. The dominant Micropollutants in the influent of the STTs were caffeine (13,346 ng/L), acetaminophen (11,331 ng/L), ibuprofen (1440 ng/L), and naproxen (1313 ng/L), in agreement with the amounts produced annually in Korea. In the effluent, caffeine (1912 ng/L), acetaminophen (1586 ng/L), naproxen (475 ng/L), and ibuprofen (389 ng/L) were detected in relatively high concentrations. The composition of Micropollutants in STT influents showed little regional variation by provinces, suggesting that the consumption pattern of these Micropollutants did not show regional variation. The removal efficiencies of the selected Micropollutants at the STTs ranged from 12% (carbamazepine) to 88% (acetaminophen), lower than typical removal by sewage treatment plants (STPs). This result is probably due to the automatic operation systems and simple treatment processes in STTs compared with STPs. The concentrations of selected Micropollutants upstream of the receiving water were generally lower compared with those observed downstream, indicating that effluent from STTs was the main source. The per capita discharge loads of STTs and annual emissions rates (kg/year) from private wastewater treatment facilities were estimated for the selected Micropollutants.
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Desorption of Micropollutant from spent carbon filters used for water purifier.
Environmental science and pollution research international, 2017Co-Authors: Da-sol Kwon, Moon-kyung Kim, So-yeon Tak, Jung Eun Lee, Young Hwa Lee, Doo Won Han, Kang Sang-hyeon, Kyung-duk ZohAbstract:In this study, to examine the accumulated Micropollutants in the spent carbon filter used in the water purifier, first, the method to desorb Micropollutant from the activated carbon was developed and optimized. Then, using this optimized desorption conditions, we examined which Micropollutants exist in spent carbon filters collected from houses in different regions in Korea where water purifiers were used. A total of 11 Micropollutants (caffeine (CFF), acetaminophen (ACT), sulfamethazine (SMA), sulfamethoxazole (SMZ), metoprolol (MTP), carbamazepine (CBM), naproxen (NPX), bisphenol-A (BPA), ibuprofen (IBU), diclofenac (DCF), and triclocarban (TCB)) were analyzed using LC/MS-MS from the spent carbon filters. CFF, NPX, and DCF had the highest detection frequencies (>60%) in the carbon filters (n = 100), whereas SMA, SMZ, and MTP were only detected in the carbon filters, but not in the tap waters (n = 25), indicating that these Micropollutants, which exist less than the detection limit in tap water, were accumulated in the carbon filters. The regional Micropollutant detection patterns in the carbon filters showed higher levels of Micropollutants, especially NPX, BPA, IBU, and DCF, in carbon filters collected in the Han River and Nakdong River basins where large cities exist. The levels of Micropollutants in the carbon filter were generally lower in the regions where advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) were employed at nearby water treatment plants (WTPs), indicating that AOP process in WTP is quite effective in removing Micropollutant. Our results suggest that desorption of Micropollutant from the carbon filter used can be a tool to identify Micropollutants present in tap water with trace amounts or below the detection limit.
Urs Von Gunten - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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effect of operational and water quality parameters on conventional ozonation and the advanced oxidation process o 3 h 2 o 2 kinetics of Micropollutant abatement transformation product and bromate formation in a surface water
Water Research, 2017Co-Authors: Marc Bourgin, Urs Von Gunten, Ewa Borowska, Jakob Helbing, Juliane Hollender, H P Kaiser, Cornelia Kienle, Christa S Mcardell, Eszter SimonAbstract:Abstract The efficiency of ozone-based processes under various conditions was studied for the treatment of a surface water (Lake Zurich water, Switzerland) spiked with 19 Micropollutants (pharmaceuticals, pesticides, industrial chemical, X-ray contrast medium, sweetener) each at 1 μg L−1. Two pilot-scale ozonation reactors (4–5 m3 h−1), a 4-chamber reactor and a tubular reactor, were investigated by either conventional ozonation and/or the advanced oxidation process (AOP) O3/H2O2. The effects of selected operational parameters, such as ozone dose (0.5–3 mg L−1) and H2O2 dose (O3:H2O2 = 1:3–3:1 (mass ratio)), and selected water quality parameters, such as pH (6.5–8.5) and initial bromide concentration (15–200 μg L−1), on Micropollutant abatement and bromate formation were investigated. Under the studied conditions, compounds with high second-order rate constants kO3>104 M−1 s−1 for their reaction with ozone were well abated (>90%) even for the lowest ozone dose of 0.5 mg L−1. Conversely, the abatement efficiency of sucralose, which only reacts with hydroxyl radicals ( OH), varied between 19 and 90%. Generally, the abatement efficiency increased with higher ozone doses and higher pH and lower bromide concentrations. H2O2 addition accelerated the ozone conversion to OH, which enables a faster abatement of ozone-resistant Micropollutants. Interestingly, the abatement of Micropollutants decreased with higher bromide concentrations during conventional ozonation due to competitive ozone-consuming reactions, except for lamotrigine, due to the suspected reaction of HOBr/OBr− with the primary amine moieties. In addition to the abatement of Micropollutants, the evolution of the two main transformation products (TPs) of hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and tramadol (TRA), chlorothiazide (CTZ) and tramadol N-oxide (TRA-NOX), respectively, was assessed by chemical analysis and kinetic modeling. Both selected TPs were quickly formed initially to reach a maximum concentration followed by a decrease of their concentrations for longer contact times. For the studied conditions, the TP's concentrations at the outlet of the reactors ranged from 0 to 61% of the initial parent compound concentration, CTZ being a more persistent TP against further oxidation than TRA-NOX. Finally, it was demonstrated in both reactors that the formation of bromate (BrO3−), a potentially carcinogenic oxidation by-product, could be controlled by H2O2 addition with a general improvement on Micropollutant abatement. Post-treatment by granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration enabled the reduction of Micropollutants and TPs concentrations but no changes in bromate were observed. The combined algae assay showed that water quality was significantly improved after oxidation and GAC post-treatment, driven by the abatement of the spiked pesticides (diuron and atrazine).
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advances in predicting organic contaminant abatement during ozonation of municipal wastewater effluent reaction kinetics transformation products and changes of biological effects
Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 2016Co-Authors: Yunho Lee, Urs Von GuntenAbstract:Ozonation of municipal wastewater effluent has been considered in recent years as an enhanced wastewater treatment technology to abate trace organic contaminants (Micropollutants). The efficiency of ozonation for Micropollutant abatement depends on (1) the reactivity of ozone and OH radical (˙OH) with the target Micropollutant, (2) the dosage of ozone and the stability of ozone and ˙OH in a given water matrix, (3) the removal of undesirable effects (e.g., biological activities) of a Micropollutant after structural transformation, and (4) the biodegradability of transformation products in biological post-treatment. In this article, recent advances in predicting organic Micropollutant abatement during ozonation of municipal wastewater effluents are reviewed with a focus on (i) principle-based approaches for describing and modeling the reaction kinetics of ozone and ˙OH, (ii) transformation products and pathways, (iii) changes of biological activities, and (iv) biodegradation of transformation products in biological post-treatment. Using the chemical kinetics based on ozone and ˙OH rate constants (i.e., compound-specific information) and exposures (i.e., water matrix-specific information), a generalized prediction of the abatement efficiency of various Micropollutants in varying water quality appears to be possible. QSAR-type correlations based on Hammett coefficients or quantum chemical energy calculations or (semi)empirical models have been developed for predicting the ozone and ˙OH rate constants and exposures, respectively. Models based on the ozone and ˙OH reaction rules can be used to predict the transformation products of Micropollutants by ozone and ˙OH. Reaction rule-based models in combination with the chemical kinetics information will enable the prediction of transformation product evolution during ozonation. The biological activities of transformation products have been assessed by an effect-driven approach using in vitro bioassays. Biological activities with specific modes of action (e.g., receptor-binding activities) were found to be quite efficiently removed, upon slight structural modifications by ozone or ˙OH. The formation of new biological activities has also been observed, which warrants identification of the responsible toxicophore(s) and quantitative exposure-based risk assessment. Finally, there is only limited experimental information on the biodegradability of transformation products; however, biodegradability probability models can be used to make first estimates. In future research, the discussed principle-based approaches can be more actively applied to determine and predict not only the abatement levels of the parent Micropollutants but also the formation of transformation products and the consequent changes of biological activities and biodegradability, which determines the overall treatment efficiency.
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Prediction of Micropollutant elimination during ozonation of a hospital wastewater effluent.
Water research, 2014Co-Authors: Yunho Lee, Christa S Mcardell, Lubomira Kovalova, Urs Von GuntenAbstract:Determining optimal ozone doses for organic Micropollutant elimination during wastewater ozonation is challenged by the presence of a large number of structurally diverse Micropollutants for varying wastewater matrice compositions. A chemical kinetics approach based on ozone and hydroxyl radical (·OH) rate constant and measurements of ozone and ·OH exposures is proposed to predict the Micropollutant elimination efficiency. To further test and validate the chemical kinetics approach, the elimination efficiency of 25 Micropollutants present in a hospital wastewater effluent from a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) were determined at pH 7.0 and 8.5 in bench-scale experiments with ozone alone and ozone combined with H2O2 as a function of DOC-normalized specific ozone doses (gO3/gDOC). Furthermore, ozone and ·OH exposures, ·OH yields, and ·OH consumption rates were determined. Consistent eliminations as a function of gO3/gDOC were observed for Micropollutants with similar ozone and ·OH rate constants. They could be classified into five groups having characteristic elimination patterns. By increasing the pH from 7.0 to 8.5, the elimination levels increased for the amine-containing Micropollutants due to the increased apparent second-order ozone rate constants while decreased for most Micropollutants due to the diminished ozone or ·OH exposures. Increased ·OH quenching by effluent organic matter and carbonate with increasing pH was responsible for the lower ·OH exposures. Upon H2O2 addition, the elimination levels of the Micropollutants slightly increased at pH 7 ( 80% for gO3/gDOC = 0.5).
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oxidative transformation of Micropollutants during municipal wastewater treatment comparison of kinetic aspects of selective chlorine chlorine dioxide ferratevi and ozone and non selective oxidants hydroxyl radical
Water Research, 2010Co-Authors: Yunho Lee, Urs Von GuntenAbstract:Chemical oxidation processes have been widely applied to water treatment and may serve as a tool to minimize the release of Micropollutants (e g pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors) from municipal wastewater effluents into the aquatic environment The potential of several oxidants for the transformation of selected Micropollutants such as atenolol, carbamazepine, 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2), ibuprofen, and sulfamethoxazole was assessed and compared The oxidants include chlorine, chlorine dioxide, ferrate(VI), and ozone as selective oxidants versus hydroxyl radicals as non-selective oxidant. Second-order rate constants (k) for the reaction of each oxidant show that the selective oxidants react only with some electron-rich organic moieties (ERMs), such as phenols, anilines, olefins, and deprotonated-amines in contrast, hydroxyl radicals show a nearly diffusion-controlled reactivity with almost all organic moieties (k > 10(9) M-1 s(-1)) Due to a competition for oxidants between a target Micropollutant and wastewater matrix (i e effluent organic matter, EfOM), a higher reaction rate with a target Micropollutant does not necessarily translate into more efficient transformation For example, transformation efficiencies of EE2, a phenolic Micropollutant, in a selected wastewater effluent at pH 8 varied only within a factor of 7 among the selective oxidants, even though the corresponding k for the reaction of each selective oxidant with EE2 varied over four orders of magnitude in addition, for the selective oxidants, the competition disappears rapidly after the ERMs present in EfOM are consumed In contrast, for hydroxyl radicals, the competition remains practically the same during the entire oxidation Therefore, for a given oxidant dose, the selective oxidants were more efficient than hydroxyl radicals for transforming ERMs-containing Micropollutants, while hydroxyl radicals are capable of transforming Micropollutants even without ERMs Besides EfOM, ammonia, nitrite, and bromide were found to affect the Micropollutant transformation efficiency during chlorine or ozone treatment. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
Andrea I Schäfer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Solid-phase microextraction to determine Micropollutant–macromolecule partition coefficients
Nature Protocols, 2016Co-Authors: Helen L Bridle, Minne B Heringa, Andrea I SchäferAbstract:Aqueous Micropollutants such as estradiol can have a large environmental impact—even at low concentrations. Part of understanding this impact involves determining the extent to which the Micropollutants interact with macromolecules in water. In environmental samples, relevant macromolecules to which Micropollutants bind are referred to as dissolved organic matter, and the most common examples of these in freshwater and coastal seawater are fulvic and humic acids. In living organisms, the most common macromolecules that affect bioavailability of a drug (or toxin) are proteins such as albumin. Using [2, 4, 6, 7 – ^3H]estradiol as an example compound, this protocol uses solid-phase microextraction and scintillation detection as analytical tools to quantify the amount of radiolabeled Micropollutant available in solution. The measured free concentration after exposure to various concentrations of macromolecule (dissolved organic matter or protein) or Micropollutant is used to determine the partition coefficient in the case of Micropollutant–macromolecule interactions. The calibration and preparatory studies take at least 8 d, and the steps to determine the partition coefficient can be completed within 3 d. The protocol could be modified such that nonlabeled compounds are studied; instead of detection of activity by a liquid scintillation counter (LSC), the compounds can be quantified using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) or liquid chromatography (LC)–MS(/MS). Interaction with macromolecules affects the environmental availability of a Micropollutant. With solid-phase microextraction of radiolabeled Micropollutants, the partition coefficient can be determined at environmentally relevant concentrations.
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Solid-phase microextraction to determine Micropollutant-macromolecule partition coefficients
Nature protocols, 2016Co-Authors: Helen Bridle, Minne B Heringa, Andrea I SchäferAbstract:Aqueous Micropollutants such as estradiol can have a large environmental impact-even at low concentrations. Part of understanding this impact involves determining the extent to which the Micropollutants interact with macromolecules in water. In environmental samples, relevant macromolecules to which Micropollutants bind are referred to as dissolved organic matter, and the most common examples of these in freshwater and coastal seawater are fulvic and humic acids. In living organisms, the most common macromolecules that affect bioavailability of a drug (or toxin) are proteins such as albumin. Using [2, 4, 6, 7 - (3)H]estradiol as an example compound, this protocol uses solid-phase microextraction and scintillation detection as analytical tools to quantify the amount of radiolabeled Micropollutant available in solution. The measured free concentration after exposure to various concentrations of macromolecule (dissolved organic matter or protein) or Micropollutant is used to determine the partition coefficient in the case of Micropollutant-macromolecule interactions. The calibration and preparatory studies take at least 8 d, and the steps to determine the partition coefficient can be completed within 3 d. The protocol could be modified such that nonlabeled compounds are studied; instead of detection of activity by a liquid scintillation counter (LSC), the compounds can be quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) or liquid chromatography (LC)-MS(/MS).
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Micropollutant sorption to membrane polymers a review of mechanisms for estrogens
Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 2011Co-Authors: Andrea I Schäfer, Ime Akanyeti, Andrea SemiaoAbstract:Organic Micropollutants such as estrogens occur in water in increasing quantities from predominantly anthropogenic sources. In water such Micropollutants partition not only to surfaces such as membrane polymers but also to any other natural or treatment related surfaces. Such interactions are often observed as sorption in treatment processes and this phenomenon is exploited in activated carbon filtration, for example. Sorption is important for polymeric materials and this is used for the concentration of such Micropollutants for analytical purposes in solid phase extraction. In membrane filtration the mechanism of Micropollutant sorption is a relatively new discovery that was facilitated through new analytical techniques. This sorption plays an important role in Micropollutant retention by membranes although mechanisms of interaction are to date not understood. This review is focused on sorption of estrogens on polymeric surfaces, specifically membrane polymers. Such sorption has been observed to a large extent with values of up to 1.2 ng/cm(2) measured. Sorption is dependent on the type of polymer, Micropollutant characteristics, solution chemistry, membrane operating conditions as well as membrane morphology. Likely contributors to sorption are the surface roughness as well as the microporosity of such polymers. While retention-and/or reflection coefficient as well as solute to effective pore size ratio-controls the access of such Micropollutants to the inner surface, pore size, porosity and thickness as well as morphology or shape of inner voids determines the available area for sorption. The interaction mechanisms are governed, most likely, by hydrophobic as well as solvation effects and interplay of molecular and supramolecular interactions such as hydrogen bonding, π-cation/anion interactions, π-π stacking, ion-dipole and dipole-dipole interactions, the extent of which is naturally dependent on Micropollutant and polymer characteristics. Systematic investigations are required to identify and quantify both relative contributions and strength of such interactions and develop suitable surface characterisation tools. This is a difficult endeavour given the complexity of systems, the possibility of several interactions taking place simultaneously and the generally weaker forces involved.
Thomas A. Ternes - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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insights into the variability of microbial community composition and Micropollutant degradation in diverse biological wastewater treatment systems
Water Research, 2018Co-Authors: David Wolff, Arne Wick, Daniel Krah, Andreas Dotsch, Annkathrin Ghattas, Thomas A. TernesAbstract:The biological potential of conventional wastewater treatment plants to remove Micropollutants mainly depends on process conditions and the predominant microbial community. To explore this dependence and to connect the occurrence of genera with operating conditions, five pilot-scale reactors with different process conditions were combined into two reactor cascades and fed with the effluent of the primary clarifier of a municipal WWTP. All reactors and the WWTP were analyzed for the removal of 33 Micropollutants by LC-MS/MS and the presence of the microbial community using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The overall removal of the Micropollutants was slightly improved (ca. 20%) by the reactor cascades in comparison to the WWTP while certain compounds such as diatrizoate, venlafaxine or diclofenac showed an enhanced removal (ca. 70% in one or both cascades). To explore the diverse bacteria in more detail, the general community was divided into a core and a specialized community. Despite their profoundly different operating parameters (especially redox conditions), the different treatments share a core community consisted of 143 genera (9% of the overall community). Furthermore, the alpha- and beta-biodiversity as well as the occurrence of several genera belonging to the specialized microbial community could be linked to the prevalent process conditions of the individual treatments. Members of the specialized community also correlated with the removal of certain groups of Micropollutants. Hence, the comparison of the specialized community with Micropollutant removal and operating conditions via correlation analysis is a valuable tool for an extended evaluation of prevalent process conditions. Based on an extended data set this approach could also be used to identify organisms as indicators for operating conditions which are beneficial for an improved removal of specific Micropollutants.
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Transformation, CO2 formation and uptake of four organic Micropollutants by carrier-attached microorganisms.
Water research, 2018Co-Authors: Per Falås, Thomas A. Ternes, Adriano Joss, Arne Wick, Kevin S. Jewell, Nina Hermes, Jeppe Lund NielsenAbstract:A tiered process was developed to assess the transformation, CO2 formation and uptake of four organic Micropollutants by carrier-attached microorganisms from two municipal wastewater treatment plants. At the first tier, primary transformation of ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, and mecoprop by carrier-attached microorganisms was shown by the dissipation of the target compounds and the formation of five transformation products using LC-tandem MS. At the second tier, the microbial cleavage of the four organic Micropollutants was confirmed with 14C-labeled Micropollutants through liquid scintillation counting of the 14CO2 formed. At the third tier, microautoradiography coupled with fluorescence in situ hybridization (MAR-FISH) was used to screen carrier-attached microorganisms for uptake of the four radiolabeled Micropollutants. Results from the MAR-FISH screening indicated that only a small fraction of the microbial community (≤1‰) was involved in the uptake of the radiolabeled Micropollutants and that the responsible microorganisms differed between the compounds. At the fourth tier, the microbial community structure of the carrier-attached biofilms was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The sequencing results showed that the MAR-FISH screening targeted ∼80% of the microbial community and that several taxonomic families within the FISH-probed populations with MAR-positive signals (i.e. Firmicutes, Gammaproteobacteria, and Deltaproteobacteria) were present in both biofilms. From the broader perspective of organic Micropollutant removal in biological wastewater treatment, the MAR-FISH results of this study indicate a high degree of microbial substrate specialization that could explain differences in transformation rates and patterns between Micropollutants and microbial communities.
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Tracing the limits of organic Micropollutant removal in biological wastewater treatment.
Water research, 2016Co-Authors: Per Falås, Thomas A. Ternes, Arne Wick, Sandro Castronovo, Jonathan Habermacher, Adriano JossAbstract:Removal of organic Micropollutants was investigated in 15 diverse biological reactors through short and long-term experiments. Short-term batch experiments were performed with activated sludge from three parallel sequencing batch reactors (25, 40, and 80 d solid retention time, SRT) fed with synthetic wastewater without Micropollutants for one year. Despite the minimal Micropollutant exposure, the synthetic wastewater sludges were able to degrade several Micropollutants present in municipal wastewater. The degradation occurred immediately after spiking (1-5 μg/L), showed no strong or systematic correlation to the sludge age, and proceeded at rates comparable to those of municipal wastewater sludges. Thus, the results from the batch experiments indicate that degradation of organic Micropollutants in biological wastewater treatment is quite insensitive to SRT increases from 25 to 80 days, and not necessarily induced by exposure to Micropollutants. Long-term experiments with municipal wastewater were performed to assess the potential for extended biological Micropollutant removal under different redox conditions and substrate concentrations (carbon and nitrogen). A total of 31 organic Micropollutants were monitored through influent-effluent sampling of twelve municipal wastewater reactors. In accordance with the results from the sludges grown on synthetic wastewater, several compounds such as bezafibrate, atenolol and acyclovir were significantly removed in the activated sludge processes fed with municipal wastewater. Complementary removal of two compounds, diuron and diclofenac, was achieved in an oxic biofilm treatment. A few aerobically persistent Micropollutants such as venlafaxine, diatrizoate and tramadol were removed under anaerobic conditions, but a large number of Micropollutants persisted in all biological treatments. Collectively, these results indicate that certain improvements in biological Micropollutant removal can be achieved by combining different aerobic and anaerobic treatments, but that these improvements are restricted to a limited number of compounds.
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is biological treatment a viable alternative for Micropollutant removal in drinking water treatment processes
Water Research, 2013Co-Authors: Jessica Benner, Damian E Helbling, Hanspeter E Kohler, Janneke Wittebol, Elena Kaiser, Carsten Prasse, Jens Aamand, Christian Nyrop Albers, Thomas A. Ternes, Benjamin HoremansAbstract:In western societies, clean and safe drinking water is often taken for granted, but there are threats to drinking water resources that should not be underestimated. Contamination of drinking water sources by anthropogenic chemicals is one threat that is particularly widespread in industrialized nations. Recently, a significant amount of attention has been given to the occurrence of Micropollutants in the urban water cycle. Micropollutants are bioactive and/or persistent chemicals originating from diverse sources that are frequently detected in water resources in the pg/L to μg/L range. The aim of this review is to critically evaluate the viability of biological treatment processes as a means to remove Micropollutants from drinking water resources. We first place the Micropollutant problem in context by providing a comprehensive summary of the reported occurrence of Micropollutants in raw water used directly for drinking water production and in finished drinking water. We then present a critical discussion on conventional and advanced drinking water treatment processes and their contribution to Micropollutant removal. Finally, we propose biological treatment and bioaugmentation as a potential targeted, cost-effective, and sustainable alternative to existing processes while critically examining the technical limitations and scientific challenges that need to be addressed prior to implementation. This review will serve as a valuable source of data and literature for water utilities, water researchers, policy makers, and environmental consultants. Meanwhile this review will open the door to meaningful discussion on the feasibility and application of biological treatment and bioaugmentation in drinking water treatment processes to protect the public from exposure to Micropollutants.
Adriano Joss - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Trends in Micropollutant Biotransformation along a Solids Retention Time Gradient.
Environmental science & technology, 2018Co-Authors: Stefan Achermann, Per Falås, Adriano Joss, Cresten B. Mansfeldt, Yujie Men, Bernadette Vogler, Kathrin FennerAbstract:For many polar organic Micropollutants, biotransformation by activated sludge microorganisms is a major removal process during wastewater treatment. However, our current understanding of how wastewater treatment operations influence microbial communities and their Micropollutant biotransformation potential is limited, leaving major parts of observed variability in biotransformation rates across treatment facilities unexplained. Here, we present biotransformation rate constants for 42 Micropollutants belonging to different chemical classes along a gradient of solids retention time (SRT). The geometric mean of biomass-normalized first-order rate constants shows a clear increase between 3 and 15 d SRT by 160% and 87%, respectively, in two experiments. However, individual Micropollutants show a variety of trends. Rate constants of oxidative biotransformation reactions mostly increased with SRT. Yet, nitrifying activity could be excluded as primary driver. For substances undergoing other than oxidative reactions, i.e., mostly substitution-type reactions, more diverse dependencies on SRT were observed. Most remarkably, characteristic trends were observed for groups of substances undergoing similar types of initial transformation reaction, suggesting that shared enzymes or enzyme systems that are conjointly regulated catalyze biotransformation reactions within such groups. These findings open up opportunities for correlating rate constants with measures of enzyme abundance such as genes or gene products, which in turn should help to identify enzymes associated with the respective biotransformation reactions.
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Transformation, CO2 formation and uptake of four organic Micropollutants by carrier-attached microorganisms.
Water research, 2018Co-Authors: Per Falås, Thomas A. Ternes, Adriano Joss, Arne Wick, Kevin S. Jewell, Nina Hermes, Jeppe Lund NielsenAbstract:A tiered process was developed to assess the transformation, CO2 formation and uptake of four organic Micropollutants by carrier-attached microorganisms from two municipal wastewater treatment plants. At the first tier, primary transformation of ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, and mecoprop by carrier-attached microorganisms was shown by the dissipation of the target compounds and the formation of five transformation products using LC-tandem MS. At the second tier, the microbial cleavage of the four organic Micropollutants was confirmed with 14C-labeled Micropollutants through liquid scintillation counting of the 14CO2 formed. At the third tier, microautoradiography coupled with fluorescence in situ hybridization (MAR-FISH) was used to screen carrier-attached microorganisms for uptake of the four radiolabeled Micropollutants. Results from the MAR-FISH screening indicated that only a small fraction of the microbial community (≤1‰) was involved in the uptake of the radiolabeled Micropollutants and that the responsible microorganisms differed between the compounds. At the fourth tier, the microbial community structure of the carrier-attached biofilms was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The sequencing results showed that the MAR-FISH screening targeted ∼80% of the microbial community and that several taxonomic families within the FISH-probed populations with MAR-positive signals (i.e. Firmicutes, Gammaproteobacteria, and Deltaproteobacteria) were present in both biofilms. From the broader perspective of organic Micropollutant removal in biological wastewater treatment, the MAR-FISH results of this study indicate a high degree of microbial substrate specialization that could explain differences in transformation rates and patterns between Micropollutants and microbial communities.
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Tracing the limits of organic Micropollutant removal in biological wastewater treatment.
Water research, 2016Co-Authors: Per Falås, Thomas A. Ternes, Arne Wick, Sandro Castronovo, Jonathan Habermacher, Adriano JossAbstract:Removal of organic Micropollutants was investigated in 15 diverse biological reactors through short and long-term experiments. Short-term batch experiments were performed with activated sludge from three parallel sequencing batch reactors (25, 40, and 80 d solid retention time, SRT) fed with synthetic wastewater without Micropollutants for one year. Despite the minimal Micropollutant exposure, the synthetic wastewater sludges were able to degrade several Micropollutants present in municipal wastewater. The degradation occurred immediately after spiking (1-5 μg/L), showed no strong or systematic correlation to the sludge age, and proceeded at rates comparable to those of municipal wastewater sludges. Thus, the results from the batch experiments indicate that degradation of organic Micropollutants in biological wastewater treatment is quite insensitive to SRT increases from 25 to 80 days, and not necessarily induced by exposure to Micropollutants. Long-term experiments with municipal wastewater were performed to assess the potential for extended biological Micropollutant removal under different redox conditions and substrate concentrations (carbon and nitrogen). A total of 31 organic Micropollutants were monitored through influent-effluent sampling of twelve municipal wastewater reactors. In accordance with the results from the sludges grown on synthetic wastewater, several compounds such as bezafibrate, atenolol and acyclovir were significantly removed in the activated sludge processes fed with municipal wastewater. Complementary removal of two compounds, diuron and diclofenac, was achieved in an oxic biofilm treatment. A few aerobically persistent Micropollutants such as venlafaxine, diatrizoate and tramadol were removed under anaerobic conditions, but a large number of Micropollutants persisted in all biological treatments. Collectively, these results indicate that certain improvements in biological Micropollutant removal can be achieved by combining different aerobic and anaerobic treatments, but that these improvements are restricted to a limited number of compounds.
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Micropollutant removal by attached and suspended growth in a hybrid biofilm-activated sludge process.
Water research, 2013Co-Authors: Per Falås, Juliane Hollender, Philipp Longrée, J. La Cour Jansen, Hansruedi Siegrist, Adriano JossAbstract:Removal of organic Micropollutants in a hybrid biofilm-activated sludge process was investigated through batch experiments, modeling, and full-scale measurements. Batch experiments with carriers and activated sludge from the same full-scale reactor were performed to assess the Micropollutant removal rates of the carrier biofilm under oxic conditions and the sludge under oxic and anoxic conditions. Clear differences in the Micropollutant removal kinetics of the attached and suspended growth were demonstrated, often with considerably higher removal rates for the biofilm compared to the sludge. For several Micropollutants, the removal rates were also affected by the redox conditions, i.e. oxic and anoxic. Removal rates obtained from the batch experiments were used to model the Micropollutant removal in the full-scale process. The results from the model and plant measurements showed that the removal efficiency of the process can be predicted with acceptable accuracy (±25%) for most of the modeled Micropollutants. Furthermore, the model estimations indicate that the attached growth in hybrid biofilm-activated sludge processes can contribute significantly to the removal of individual compounds, such as diclofenac.