Removal of Organic Micropollutants from Urban Wastewater

Abstract

The occurrence of micropollutants in urban wastewater is one of the current challenges for wastewater treatment. Implementing advanced treatment to minimize their discharge into the aquatic environment is crucial, and the European Commission has proposed corresponding requirements in a revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. Based on treatment efficiency and costs, ozonation and activated carbon have been identified as the most promising technologies and are already implemented at full scale in different European countries. Current applications comprise various engineering solutions, including powdered activated carbon, either dosed simultaneously during or after biological treatment, granular activated carbon (GAC) filters, ozonation (O3), and the combination of O3 and GAC. This chapter aims to summarize principles and recent advances in micropollutant abatement. It demonstrates the design, operation, and monitoring of advanced wastewater treatment based on eight case studies employing full-scale micropollutant removal. In addition to minimizing the discharge of micropollutants into the aquatic environment, we also present synergies with future nonpotable reuse applications since requirements for agricultural reuse to cope with increasing climate-induced water scarcity are directly linked to advanced treatment.