(Invited) The Removal of Contaminants of Emerging Concern from Wastewater: From Lab-Scale to Pilot-Scale

Abstract

Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) including pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and other potent endocrine disrupting compounds, are increasingly being detected at low levels in surface and groundwater, and there is a concern that these compounds can negatively impact ecosystem well-being. For this reason, it is critical to evaluate their sources, cycling and fate as well as approaches for limiting their input into the environment. The key is developing efficient and green technologies for removing them from wastewaters, which are their primary source.This presentation will address possible sources of these compounds in wastewater as well as research into conventional and alternative treatment technologies. These will include biological treatment using suspended and attached growth biomass, phycoremediation as well as photodegradation, cavitation and plasma-based technologies for removing model compounds at the laboratory and pilot-scale. In addition their removal efficiencies, degradation kinetics and general advantages and disadvantages will be discussed in comparison to conventional biological treatment. The presentation will also cover concepts such as the formation of transformation products.