Biofiltration of wastewater treatment plant effluent: Effective removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products and reduction of toxicity

Reungoat, J., Escher, B. I., Macova, M. and Keller, J. (2011) Biofiltration of wastewater treatment plant effluent: Effective removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products and reduction of toxicity. Water Research, 45 9: 2751-2762. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2011.02.013


Author Reungoat, J.
Escher, B. I.
Macova, M.
Keller, J.
Title Biofiltration of wastewater treatment plant effluent: Effective removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products and reduction of toxicity
Journal name Water Research   Check publisher's open access policy
ISSN 0043-1354
1879-2448
Publication date 2011-04-01
Year available 2011
Sub-type Article (original research)
DOI 10.1016/j.watres.2011.02.013
Open Access Status Not yet assessed
Volume 45
Issue 9
Start page 2751
End page 2762
Total pages 12
Place of publication Lisle, IL, United States
Publisher I W A Publishing
Language eng
Subject 2312 Water Science and Technology
2311 Waste Management and Disposal
2310 Pollution
2302 Ecological Modelling
Abstract This study investigates biofiltration for the removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), and for the reduction of non-specific toxicity expressed as baseline toxicity equivalent concentration (baseline-TEQ). Two filtering media, sand and granular activated carbon, were tested. The influence of pre-ozonation and empty-bed contact time (EBCT, from 30 to 120 min) was determined. The experiments were performed at a pilot-scale with real WWTP effluent. A previous study showed that biological activity had developed on the filtering media and dissolved organic removal had reached a steady state before sampling commenced. The results show that biological activated carbon (BAC) has a good potential for the removal of DOC (35–60%), PPCPs (>90%) and baseline-TEQ (28–68%) even without pre-ozonation. On the contrary, the sand shows limited improvement of effluent quality. Varying the EBCT does not influence the performance of the BAC filters; however, dissolved oxygen concentration could be a limiting factor. The performances of the BAC filters were stable for over two years suggesting that the main mechanism of organic matter and PPCPs removal is biodegradation. It is concluded that BAC filtration without pre-ozonation could be implemented as a low cost advanced treatment option to improve WWTP effluent chemical quality.
Keyword Organic micropollutants
Biological activated carbon filtration
Sand filtration
Baseline toxicity
Equivalent concentrations
Wastewater reclamation
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code
Grant ID 2.0.2.4.1.1
Institutional Status UQ

 
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