Efficiency Of Treatment Plants Research Articles

Microplastic abundance and removal via an ultrafiltration system coupled to a conventional municipal wastewater treatment plant in Thailand

A wastewater treatment plant is one of the land-based sources of microplastics in freshwater environments. A conventional wastewater treatment plant alone is not designed for microplastic removal. This study evaluates the abundance and microplastic removal efficiency of a conventional wastewater treatment plant and the load daily released to water environment. It also investigates the effect of coupling a pilot-scale ultrafiltration system. Samples were collected at each unit operation by grab sampling. Sludge samples were collected from return activated sludge after the final clarifier to find microplastic pollution levels that might contaminate agricultural soil. The results showed that on average, 77 ± 7.21 particles/L were found in the influent, and 10.67 ± 3.51 particles/L were discharged with the final effluent, resulting in 86.14% overall removal efficiency in a traditional treatment system. When an ultrafiltration unit was taken into consideration, the number of microplastics in the effluent reduced to 2.33 ± 1.53 particles/L, which increased the removal efficiency up to 96.97%. The abundance of microplastic particles in sludge samples generated from the final clarifier was 2.63 ± 1.26 × 104 particles/kg (dry weight). The most dominant group was 0.05–0.5 mm, and fibers accounted for more than 60% of total microplastics at every sampling point. The results from spectroscopic analysis showed that polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was the major type of microplastics, followed by polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). This study shows that advanced technology in tertiary treatment plants could substantially remove microplastic pollution in wastewater. Moreover, the absence of primary sedimentation tank can also influence removal of microplastics.

USING THE ORGAN MODEL (OWQI) TO EVALUATE AL-DANDAN WATER SUPPLY STATION AND ITS RESIDENTIAL QUARTERS, MOSUL, IRAQ.

The current study was conducted to assess the quality of treated water in the Dandan water treatment plant for drinking water and its related residential neighborhoods on the right side of Mosul city. Water samples were collected from ten sites (before and after treatment and the rest from the residential areas included in the study) to estimate the physical, chemical and bacteriological properties, the Organ Model (OWQI) was also applied to assess the quality of the studied water. The results of the study indicated the efficiency of the Dandan water treatment plant for drinking, where the water was of the type of excellent water after treatment, while the rest of the studied sites were of the category of excellent water quality to very good quality, as a result of the quality index values ranged between (88.74 to 91.7) This relative decline in water quality in some residential neighborhoods is due to the presence of fecal coliform bacteria in some periods. The study recommends educating the population about the harms of connecting water pumps directly to the distribution network pipes and applying deterrent laws to violators.

An opportunity for using constructed wetland technology in hospital wastewater treatment: a preliminary study

The problem faced by many hospitals in Indonesia is the low efficiency of Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) hospitals. If it does not get the attention, it will have an impact on health and environmental pollution. Various technologies have been used but experienced many obstacles. Constructed wetlands based on aquatic plants that have been used in developed countries are very prospects of being developed in regions such as Indonesia with a tropical climate. A preliminary study is needed with the first step to investigate the quality of hospital wastewater in Palu City, Indonesia, as a sample. This study aims to obtain a description of hospital wastewater characteristics and to evaluate the performance of the hospital WWTP in Palu. Data collection was done by taking data indirectly through laboratory test results during 2015-2019. Tabulating data using Excel software to illustrate statistics, then presented in the form of bar charts, interpreting according to the quality standards. Investigation results showed that the characteristics of hospital inlet wastewater in Palu are parameter values varying with four high concentration parameters: total coliform, TSS, Ammonia Nitrogen, and COD. The efficiency level of WWTP hospitals in Palu is relatively low in removing pollutants.

Task Scheduling–Review of Algorithms and Analysis of Potential Use in a Biological Wastewater Treatment Plant

The idea of task scheduling is to increase the efficiency of a system by minimising wasted time, evenly loading machines, or maximising the throughput of machines. Moreover, the use of appropriate scheduling algorithms often leads to a reduction in the energy costs of the process. Task scheduling problems are found in a variety of industrial areas, and their scale changes significantly depending on the problem. This review shows the extent to which task scheduling methods are used in industry. This paper presents methods and algorithms for solving task scheduling problems. In addition, an analysis of the possibility of using task scheduling methods to improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants was also conducted. This approach is based on the assumption of a balanced workload for multiple SBR reactors. Analysing the case of a wastewater treatment plant in Swarzewo City in northern Poland. The problem of scheduling tasks in a wastewater treatment plant has not been so far subject of research work.

Performance Evaluation of Textile Effluent Treatment Plant: Bangladesh Perspective

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the performance efficiency of an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) of a Textile industry located at Tongi, Bangladesh with biological treatment (BT) and Membrane Bio-Reactor (MBR) with an average inflow of 300 m3/hr. The effluent samples were collected from the inlet and outlet of the ETP on a weekly basis for a 4 weeks’ period and were analysed for key parameters such as colour, temperature, total suspended solids (TSS), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). In this study, it was observed that the colour of the effluent in the inlet was dark blue and after multiple unit treatments of the colour’s final outlet the discharge, water colour was very light purple. The temperature was varied from 32.2⁰C to 34.33⁰C. The TDS was varied from 1252.5 mg/l to 1087.5 mg/l and the percentage removal efficiency of TDS was varied from 21.47% to 42.7%. The TSS was varied from 4 mg/l to 4.5 mg/l and the percentage removal efficiency of TSS was varied from 98.48% to 98.21%. The pH value was varied from 6.48 to 7.63. The DO value in the inlet was varied from 6.47 mg/l to 6.775 mg/l. The BOD was recorded from 12.75 mg/l to 17.75 mg/l and the percentage removal efficiency of BOD was varied from 89.92% to 87.24%. The COD was varied from 33.75 mg/l to 34.25 mg/l and the percentage removal efficiency of COD was varied from 91.11% to 90.5%. It is conjectured that the values of the measured parameters are seen to be within the permissible limit as per the standard of the Department of Environment (DoE) of Bangladesh.

Effect of clariflocculator and pulsator based sedimentation technology and poly-aluminium chloride coagulant type on the efficiency of the water treatment plant

Abstract Polyaluminium chloride (PAC) with different basicity is used as a coagulant in most drinking water treatment plants (WTP). The aluminium concentration in PAC and its hydrolysis mechanism varied with the basicity of PAC. Incremental addition of PAC changes various physico-chemical properties and turbidity removal mechanisms in water. Water treatment plants use the PAC concentration beyond its optimum dose without considering other aspects, including residual aluminium concentration. In the present work, the effect of high and medium basicity of PAC on different physico-chemical properties like pH, zeta potential, and residual aluminium concentration of water was investigated. The pH of treated water decreases with the incremental addition of PAC, and an increase in zeta potential and residual aluminium concentration in treated water was evidenced. The change in pH after PAC addition is responsible for deciding the coagulation mechanism and efficiency of the coagulation process. pH reduction is comparatively more in high basicity PAC than medium basicity. PAC hydrolysis mechanism is controlled by the zeta potential of water and can be used as an alternative method to decide the optimum coagulant dose. The performance of clariflocculator and pulsator-based WTP was also evaluated for raw water from the same source. To reduce down the turbidity below the acceptable level, the coagulant requirement for clariflocculator based WTP is comparatively less than pulsator based WTP. The floc blanket in the pulsator gets disturbed with a slight change in the coagulant chemistry and quantity.

Impact of ionic composition of groundwater on oxidative iron precipitation

Abstract In the Netherlands, approximately 60% of drinking water is obtained from (generally anaerobic) groundwater. This requires aeration followed by rapid sand filtration (RSF) to remove iron, manganese, arsenic and ammonium. The mechanisms responsible for their removal or the clogging of RSFs and breakthrough of colloidal iron or manganese oxides have not been fully elucidated in previous studies. In this work, factors affecting iron precipitation have been studied in aerated, continuously stirred bench scale jar experiments to simulate the supernatant layer of submerged sand filters. Time series data of filtered iron concentration and precipitate size have been collected in experiments with synthetic groundwater with and without P, Si, HCO3 and Ca at neutral pH. We observed that precipitate growth is not influenced by different HCO3 concentrations but is reduced drastically when natural organic matter (NOM) is present in water and, to lesser extent, Si as well. The addition of P appears to hamper precipitate growth to some extent, but requires more research to fully understand the implications. We also observed that addition of Ca improved the growth of Fe precipitates in the presence of Si and especially NOM. These results have great significance for improving Fe removal efficiency of groundwater treatment plants in The Netherlands and abroad.

Coliforms removal efficiency of Wupa wastewater treatment plant, Abuja, Nigeria

Efficient wastewater treatment is critical to the sustainability of the environment and protection of public health, and wastewater treatment plants. This study thus, investigates the coliforms removal efficiency of Wupa wastewater treatment plant, Abuja, Nigeria over a period of five consecutive years (2013–2017). The study was conducted using secondary data on average annual characteristics of raw sewage (influent) and treated wastewater (effluent) of the wastewater treatment plant. The correlation between the coliforms removal efficiency and other wastewater constituents such as biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solid and E.coli were also explored using paired sample mean t-test static at 5% level of significance (P<0.05. The outcome of this study indicated a total coliform and E.coli removal efficiency ranging between 99.96% to 99.98%, and 87% to 99.97% respectively; with the year 2017 notably having the highest Total Coliform and E.coli removal efficiency of 99.98% and 99.7% respectively. The findings of the research also revealed that in the t-test statistical analysis t-test value of t-critical is less than the value of t-statistic which means that there is strong relationship between the following wastewater constituents; biochemical oxygen demand concentration and Fecal coliform, total suspended solids, E.coli, total coliform and fecal coliform with (p < 0.05) confidence value. In conclusion, the observed coliforms removal efficiency in this study (97% to 99.98%) indicates a high removal efficiency which gives credence to several previous similar studies which reported coliform removal efficiencies of over 90%. The coefficient of correlation (r2) obtained from the research ranges between 0.49 and 0.97.

Assessing Performance of Wastewater Treatment Using in Vitro Cell-based Assays.

Bioanalytical tools, namely in vitro bioassays, can be employed in tandem with chemical analyses to assess the efficacy of wastewater treatment and the potential for adverse effects from the discharges of wastewater into receiving waters. In the present study, samples of untreated wastewater (i.e., influent) and treated wastewater (i.e., effluent) were collected from two wastewater treatment plants and a wastewater treatment lagoon to investigate potential differences in treatment performance. In addition, grab samples of surface water were collected downstream of the lagoon discharge to evaluate the water quality in the receiving stream. After solid-phase extraction (SPE) using ion exchange columns for basic/neutral and acidic compounds, respectively, the extracts were analyzed for a suite of 16 indicator compounds. The two SPE extracts were combined for analysis of biological responses in four in vitro cell-based bioassays. The concentrations of several indicator compounds, including the estrogens, 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), were below the limits of detection. However, androstenedione and estrone were detected in several influent samples. The concentrations of these steroid hormones and some of the other indicator compounds declined during treatment, but acesulfame K, carbamazepine, trimethoprim and DEET persisted in the effluent. The MTS-CellTiter 96® AQueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay (MTS) indicated that cell viability was not affected by exposure to the extracts. The Qiagen Nuclear Receptors 10-Pathway Reporter Array indicated that several cellular pathways were upregulated, with the greatest upregulation observed with the estrogen receptor (i.e., induction ratios of12 to 47) and the liver X receptor (i.e., induction ratios of10 to 45). The ERα CALUX assay indicated that estrogenic activity was lower in effluents compared to influents, but the expected improved removal of estrogenic activity during nitrification was not observed. The results of the Nrf2 Luciferase Luminescence Assay indicated a lower oxidative stress in the effluent samples, except for the lagoon. Overall, the present study further demonstrates that bioassays provide complementary information to chemical analyses and offer a way to assess treatment performance, even when target contaminants are not detected. There are thus advantages to using a combination of chemical analyses and in vitro bioassays to monitor the treatment efficiency of wastewater treatment plants and to predict the potential impacts of wastewater discharges into receiving waters.

Unravelling capability of municipal wastewater treatment plant in Thailand for microplastics: Effects of seasonality on detection, fate and transport

Many factors can affect microplastics (MPs) behaviors in aquatic environments. The effects of seasonal and meteorological conditions on MPs are not well understood. This study demonstrates the impacts of seasonality on the fate and transport, and the efficacy of MPs removal by a wastewater treatment plant. The fate and transport of MPs at a WWTP in Nonthaburi, Thailand were tracked during the dry and wet seasons of 2019–2020. Polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and toothpaste formulations were the most abundant MP types observed. Total detected MP quantities ranged between 76 and 192 particles L−1 during the dry season, and only 36–68 particles L−1 during the wet season, indicating runoff dilution effects. T-test analysis found a statistically significant difference between MP concentrations between the dry and wet seasons of 2019–2020. Spearman's correlation showed statistically strong negative relationships between MP concentrations versus wastewater flow, and MP concentrations versus precipitation; a positive correlation between MP abundance versus temperature in the treatment system was observed. During the dry seasons, MPs were mostly found in the aeration process, and were mostly rayon or polyester particles in the shape of fibers. Contrarily, in the wet seasons, MPs were detected in both the raw influent and aeration process, with PE, polyacrylate, and polyethylene terephthalate fragments dominating the make-up. MPs were also detected in the return activated sludge, thus calling for proper sludge age and drainage management. No MPs were detected in the plant's effluent during the wet season, suggesting that the plant had sufficient MPs removal capability during normal wet-season conditions. Overall, this study suggests that municipalities should focus on increasing MPs removal efficiency of wastewater treatment plants for dry seasons, while properly managing the water flows of combined sewage systems to prevent overflows that may inevitably become point-sources of MPs release into water bodies during wet seasons.

Behavior of Microorganisms from Wastewater Treatments in Extremely Low-Frequency Electric Field

The paper presents the research results regarding the metabolism of microorganisms from domestic wastewater treatment-activated sludge. The research approached this issue by dielectric spectroscopy measurements, chemical analyses, and specific microbiological techniques. In addition, the influence of extremely low-frequency (ELF) electric fields (1÷500 Hz) on microbial metabolism was studied. Four representative frequencies have been identified: 49.9, 99.9, 130.8, and 150.4 Hz using dielectric spectroscopy applied to the investigated samples. Also, dielectric loss and conductivity evolutions showed significant discontinuities, indicating oscillation/resonance phenomena in the investigated biomass, unlike the sterilized sludge samples (obtained either by boiling or electrically, applying a voltage that creates a 100 V/m electric field strength on the sample), which did not show discontinuities; instead, the values of tgδ and σ were approx. 5-6 times larger. Chemical and microbiological tests have shown that the metabolism, growth, and multiplication of microorganisms in activated sludge are significantly increased after exposure to 4-6 V/m electric field strength of 50 Hz. The research may continue by developing equipment and a bioelectrotechnological process to significantly increase the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants.

Evaluating the efficiency of municipal wastewater treatment plant in AL-Dhibaei, Iraq

Evaluating the efficiency of municipal wastewater treatment plant in AL-Dhibaei, Iraq

An inquiry into the relationships between BOD5, COD, and TOC in Tigris River, Maysan Province, Iraq

Despite its universally wide use in water quality indices and evaluating the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants, chemical oxygen demand (COD) or biological oxygen demand (BOD5) analyses have disadvantages such as being imprecise, time-consuming, insensitive, as well as the production of hazardous wastes. Total organic carbon (TOC) will introduce as an alternative analysis, the relationship between BOD5, COD, and TOC has been investigated in this study. A total number of 216 samples were taken from three stations (kumait, Al Amara, and Al Majar Al Kabeer) in Tigris River, Maysan Province, Iraq. The sampling was on a monthly basis during a two-year period. The tests were performed according to ASTM D7573 - 18ae1, ASTM D6238-98, and ASTM D125-06 for TOC, BOD5, and COD respectively at the Pollution Research Centre of the Al-Shatra Institute, the data were statistically analyzed using the SPSS program to predict a relationship between the COD or BOD5 and TOC. The analysis showed a good relationship concerning to a value of correlation coefficient, i.e., r = 0.93 or r = 0.94 between TOC and BOD5 or COD respectively, as well as the coefficient of determination, i.e., R2 = 0.91 or R2 = 0.92 between TOC and BOD5 or COD respectively. The validation of the suggested formulas has been tested using data from the Pollutant Centre in Al Shatra Institute for Shat al Gharaf River. The formulas gave reasonably acceptable values. It could be used in monitoring water quality and wastewater plants as a surrogate parameter to have pre-impression of the plant efficiency.

A Study of the Tofu Industry Environmental Impact Condition and Scenario Treatment Using Life Cycle Assessment Approach

One of the types of tofu industries in Indonesia is that the small-scale tofu industry was located in the East Jombor, Ketapang Village, to be precise, on the Blorong River. The Simplified Tofu Industry, with a 1300 kg/day production capacity, produces liquid waste that is disposed of into the Blorong River with a BOD parameter of 2,726 mg/L, COD of 4,972 mg/L, and TSS of 388 mg/L.These values greatly exceed the quality standards based on the Regional Regulation of Central Java Province Number 10 of 2004 concerning Tofu Industry. The entry of these pollutants into the Blorong River, over time, can cause water bodies to become toxic and pollute the Blorong River. Therefore, one of the efforts to protect this river's environmental conditions is to increase the efficiency of the Wastewater treatment plant and substitute the determined fuel through alternative scenarios. In the MBBR scenario, substituting diesel fuel into biomass is a type of biodiesel. Biodiesel has an advantage for the fire tube boiler industry because it can reduce exhaust emissions compared to diesel. Meanwhile, the existing wastewater treatment is substituted for the MBBR unit. The choice of MBBR as a wastewater treatment unit is because it is economical, does not require large land, is simple in development design, and is accessible in operation and maintenance. In the second scenario (SBR), a transition of Diesel fuel to LPG. LPG as a fuel input in the cooking process will result in cleaner emissions, especially on the SO2 parameter, and better because it has a higher heating value than diesel, 47,3 Tj/Gg. Both scenarios are analyzed regarding the magnitude of the impact on the environment using the OpenLCA method. The resulting impact magnitude on the OpenLCA method from each alternative is evaluated to obtain the best scenario. In the Tofu Industry, the best design the resulting impact is smaller than the SBR alternative.&#x0D;

Relationship between the prevalence of Dibothriocephalus latus (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidea) and the load of Escherichia coli: New findings in a neglected fish-borne parasitic zoonosis.

The sub-Alpine lakes of Switzerland, Italy and France have long been reported as an endemic area of diphyllobothriosis, a parasitic zoonosis caused by Dibothriocephalus latus. With this study, we explored the hypothesis for a relationship between the prevalence of D.latus in Perca fluviatilis and the Escherichia coli load in lake water. To do this, we identified eleven sampling sites in three areas (north, centre and south) of Lake Iseo (north Italy) to determine E.coli load and the prevalence of D.latus in P.fluviatilis. Prevalence and 95% confidence interval (CI) of D.latus infestation ranged from 0% (95% CI: 0.71-0.0) in Sarnico (southern area) to 20% (95% CI: 33.0-11.2) in Pisogne (northern area). There were significant differences in prevalence between the sites (χ2 =31.12; p-value=.0006) and in E.coli load (Kruskal-Wallis test; p-value=.0005). There was decreasing gradient of E. coli load and prevalence of D.latus infestation from north to south. A significant positive correlation (r=.881; p-value=.003) was found between E.coli load and prevalence of D.latus. Also, linear regression showed a significant relationship between E.coli load and prevalence of infestation (R2 =.775). Our findings offer an explanation for the link between E.coli load in water and D.latus prevalence. The potential factors in this link are the efficiency of the local wastewater treatment plant, the bathymetric profile of the lake and the life cycle of D.latus, which is mainly affected by light and water temperature.

Evaluating the efficiency of municipal wastewater treatment plant in AL-Dhibaei, Iraq

In this study, municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in AL-Dhibaei, Tikrit, Iraq was monitored over a period of one year. The data of raw sewage, which enter WWTP and treated sewage were obtained and investigated. To assess the operational performance of WWTP, the necessary pollutant indicators including biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), and dissolved phosphorus (PO4), were examined. The treatment plant reliability factor (RF) was determined in order to indicate an individual pollutant in the effluent sewage according to the permissible concentrations identified by the Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment. RF values for BOD, COD, and PO4 were 0.56, 0.82, and 0.4, respectively, which indicated proper performance since RF values below 1. In addition, the removal efficiency for (BOD, COD, and PO4), exceeded the minimum required reduction; 43.75, 18.25, and 60.5, respectively. In addition, the stability of mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS) to mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) ratio was determined and its variation was in the range of 0.565-1.225, indicating a proper performance. The sludge volume index (SVI) values were below 50 mg L-1 and its range (5.68 – 27.27 mg L-1), which was associated with efficient treatment interpretations at most of the time.

Application of novel intuitionistic fuzzy BWAHP process for analysing the efficiency of water treatment plant

Application of novel intuitionistic fuzzy BWAHP process for analysing the efficiency of water treatment plant

Correlating bacterial and archaeal community with efficiency of a coking wastewater treatment plant employing anaerobic-anoxic-oxic process in coal industry

Coking wastewater (CWW) contains various complex pollutants, and biological treatment processes are frequently applied in the coking wastewater treatment plants (CWWTPs). The present work is to evaluate the contaminants removal of a full-scale CWWTP with an anaerobic-anoxic-oxic process (A/A/O), to reveal function of bacterial and archaeal community involved in different bioreactors, and to clarify the relationship between the performance and microbial community. Illumina Miseq sequencing of bacteria showed that β-proteobacteria dominated in three bioreactors with relative abundance of 60.2%~81.7%. 75.2% of sequences were assigned to Petrobacter in the bioreactor A1, while Thiobacillus dominated in A2 and O with relative abundance of 31.8% and 38.7%, respectively. Illumina Miseq sequencing of archaea revealed a high diversity of methanogens existed in A1 and A2 activated sludge. Moreover, Halostagnicola was the dominant archaea in A1 and A2 activated sludge with relative abundance of 41.8% and 66.5%, respectively. Function predicted analysis explored that function of bacteria was similar to that of archaea but the relative abundance differed from each other. A putative biodegradation model of CWW treatment in A/A/O process indicated that A1 and A2 activated sludge mainly reduced carbohydrate, protein, TN, phenol and cyanide, as well as methane production. Bacteria in the bioreactor O were responsible for aerobic biotransformation of residual carbohydrates, refractory organics and nitrification. The redundancy analysis (RDA) further revealed that removal of COD, TN, and NO3−-N, phenol and cyanides were highly correlated with some anaerobic bacteria and archaea, whereas the transformation of NH4+-N was positively correlated with some aerobic bacteria.

Application of Anammox-Based Processes in Urban WWTPs: Are We on the Right Track?

The application of partial nitritation and anammox processes (PN/A) to remove nitrogen can improve the energy efficiency of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) as well as diminish their operational costs. However, there are still several limitations that are preventing the widespread application of PN/A processes in urban WWTPs such as: (a) the loss of performance stability of the PN/A units operated at the sludge line, when the sludge is thermally pretreated to increase biogas production; (b) the proliferation of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in the mainstream; and (c) the maintenance of a suitable effluent quality in the mainstream. In this work, different operational strategies to overcome these limitations were modelled and analyzed. In WWTPs whose sludge is thermically hydrolyzed, the implementation of an anerobic treatment before the PN/A unit is the best alternative, from an economic point of view, to maintain the stable performance of this unit. In order to apply the PN/A process in the mainstream, the growth of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) should be promoted in the sludge line by supplying extra sludge to the anaerobic digesters. The AOB generated would be applied to the water line to partially oxidize ammonia, and the anammox process would then be carried out. Excess nitrate generated by anammox bacteria and/or NOB can be removed by recycling a fraction of the WWTP effluent to the biological reactor to promote its denitrification.

Effect of Newly Synthesized Salts and Three Common Micropollutants on the Biochemical Activity of Nitrifiers

Often, different types of contaminants in wastewater are suspected of adversely affecting the treatment efficiency of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Therefore, it is essential to study the effects of newly synthesized substances on the activity of activated sludge microorganisms. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of innovative biosurfactants, i.e., sophorolipids quaternary ammonium salts (SQAS), and three common micropollutants (MPs), i.e., diclofenac (DCP), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), and 4-nonylenol (4-NP), on the biochemical activity of activated sludge microorganisms. The effect of all tested substances was more significant on nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) than on ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), and least on the respiratory activity of heterotrophic organisms (HET). SQAS inhibited nitrification even at the lowest concentration tested (5 mg L−1) and the inhibition degree was in the range of 37% to 78%; at the highest concentration of SQAS studied (160 mg L−1), it was about 45–96%. In most cases, the degree of inhibition increased when the SQAS concentration approached 80–160 mg L−1. MPs influenced the activity of nitrifiers to a lower extent than SQAS. The inhibition degree varied from 25% to 75%, depending on the micropollutant tested and its concentration.