Investigation of full-scale ozonation at a municipal wastewater treatment plant using a toxicity-based evaluation concept

Abstract

Effluents from municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are known to be point sources of micropollutants for surface waters. The aim of this study was to examine a reconstructed full-scale ozonation equipped with a pump-injector system for ozone (O) dosage and a fluidized moving-bed reactor as biological posttreatment at a municipal WWTP utilizing an effect-directed approach. This approach consists of chemical analysis in combination with toxicological tests for the assessment of treatment efficiency of the plant. Chemical analysis showed elimination rates > 80% for pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals. Analysis of endocrine disruptors was limited due to substance concentrations below the limit of detection (LOD). Estrogenic activity was detected by the Arxula Adeninivorans yeast estrogen screen (A-YES) at low concentrations (pg to ng EEQ/l range). Estrogenic activity was reduced by more than 90% after ozonation. In contrast, androgenic activity (measured in the Adeninivorans yeast androgen screen, A-YAS) was still found after O treatment and after biological posttreatment, which is consistent with the data obtained by chemical analysis. Furthermore, no marked genotoxic or cytotoxic effects were observed after ozonation using the alkaline comet and 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromid (MTT) assays, respectively. Results suggest that the applied specific O dose of 0.4 mg/mg is a safe operation setup in terms of toxicologically relevant transformation products. In addition, no adverse effects on primary producers, as evidenced by algae growth inhibition tests, were detected. The monitored biofilm growth in the biological posttreatment exhibited a steady state after one month. Based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and biomass, one might conclude that O did not apparently enter biological posttreatment to a great extent and that hydraulic retention time in the O reactor was sufficient. Our data demonstrate the effectiveness of a full-scale O treatment in combination with a fluidized moving-bed reactor as biological posttreatment for the reduction of a majority of micropollutants without the release of relevant toxic transformation products as assessed by a chemical and toxicity-based approach.

Comparison of Software Tools for Liquid Chromatography–High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Data Processing in Nontarget Screening of Environmental Samples

“…Before analysis, the samples were redissolved in water (LC–MS grade). Further, SPE blanks were processed the same way as described above with ultrapure water instead of sample …”

“…Further, SPE blanks were processed the same way as described above with ultrapure water instead of sample. 29 Instrumentation. Chromatographic separation was performed using a Dionex UltiMate 3000 HPLC system (Thermo Scientific, Bremen, Germany).…”

Systematic Review of Toxicity Removal by Advanced Wastewater Treatment Technologies via Ozonation and Activated Carbon

“…These studies cover 28 end points, including several endocrine end points, induction of xenobiotic metabolism, neurotoxicity, phytotoxicity, oxidative stress response, baseline toxicity, as well as genotoxicity and mutagenicity (Tables S7 and S8). ,,,− ,,− By far the best-studied end point is estrogenicity (22 out of 31 studies), followed by genotoxicity (18), mutagenicity (12), phytotoxicity(11), bacterial toxicity (11), androgenicity (11), antiandrogenicity (9), aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activity (8), antiestrogenicity (7), as well as acetylcholinesterase (AchE) inhibition (4) and glucocorticoid and thyroid activity (4). For all other end points, only data from less than four studies was available.…”

Graphitic Carbon Nitride-Based Photocatalytic Materials: Preparation Strategy and Application

“…Environmental problems caused by manmade pollution have become one of the thorny tasks that needs to be solved urgently. Although many solutions have been reported, such as physicochemical and biological treatment and advanced oxidation processes, only ultraviolet and ozonation treatment can be implemented on a large scale. , The appearance of heterogeneous photocatalysts breaks this limitation. So far, there are a large number of efficient g-C 3 N 4 -based photocatalysts reported to be used in different types of degradation and elimination of organic pollutants, roughly including organic dyes (MB, , methyl orange (MO), , RhB, , etc.…”