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Recent research projects have shown a good suitability of the ozonation process to transform trace concentrations of most pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents. The concentrations of carbamazepine and 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol, for instance, were reduced below their detection limits by use of ozone dosages resulting in a specific ozone consumption of 0.5 mg O3/mg DOC0. At the same time a good disinfection performance was achieved. The given hygienic requirements of the EU bathing water directive (e.g. 2,000 N/100 mL faecal coliforms) are fulfilled without the formation of bromate (<10 microg/L). As technical control parameter of the ozonation process usually the residual ozone in the liquid phase or in the off-gas are used. However, at very low specific ozone consumptions, ozone reacts instantaneously with dissolved compounds and cannot be detected. Hence, alternative parameters should be used for effective operation control. The present paper evaluates the relation between UVA decrease and the removal of different compounds (endocrine disrupting compounds, pharmaceuticals, iodinated X-ray contrast media), microbial parameters and bromate formation. The results can be used as a guideline for the control of the oxidation performance at large scale ozonation units.

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Groundwater recharge is becoming common in areas where the withdrawal of groundwater exceeds its natural recharge. Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent can be used for this purpose, but persistent organic compounds can only be partly removed during soil passage. This point was confirmed in degradation tests using soil columns in which the DOC of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) permeate could only be reduced by 15% and adsorbable organic iodine (AOI) by 2%. However, ozonation was found to improve biodegradation and at the maximum formation of biodegradable DOC at 2.5 mg O3/mg DOC0, the DOC values of MBR permeate (11-13 mg/L) could be reduced in aerobic degradation batch tests to the DOC of Berlin drinking water (3-5 mg/L). A combination of ozonation at 1.9 g O3/g DOC0 with soil passage could adjust DOC, UVA254, colour (436 nm) and the molecular DOC size distribution to drinking water ranges, but AOI was only reduced from 143 microg/L to 92 microg/L and remained high compared to tap water (2.2 microg/L). The extremely persistent X-ray contrast compound iopromide, which represents part of AOI, was spiked into MBR permeate at a low concentration. Iopromide was reduced by 88% during ozonation, but AOI only decreased by 23% indicating that a transformation, but not a mineralization, of iodinated organic compounds occurs.

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