Perspectives on modelling micropollutants in wastewater treatment plants.

Models for predicting the fate of micropollutants (MPs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been developed to provide engineers and decision-makers with tools that they can use to improve their understanding of, and evaluate how to optimize, the removal of MPs and determine their impact on the receiving waters. This paper provides an overview of such models, and discusses the impact of regulation, engineering practice and research on model development. A review of the current status of MP models reveals that a single model cannot represent the wide range of MPs that are present in wastewaters today, and that it is important to start considering classes of MPs based on their chemical structure or ecotoxicological effect, rather than the individual molecules. This paper identifies potential future research areas that comprise (i) considering transformation products in MP removal analysis, (ii) addressing advancements in WWTP treatment technologies, (iii) making use of common approaches to data acquisition for model calibration and (iv) integrating ecotoxicological effects of MPs in receiving waters.

Impact of oxygen cut off and starvation conditions on biological activity and physico-chemical properties of activated sludge.

Physico-chemical and biological parameters were monitored both throughout different oxygen cut off and starvation (OCS) times (6 h-72 h) and after the restoration of normal operational conditions. Sludge apparent viscosity and soluble extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) characteristics were measured to determine the activated sludge (AS) properties. Oxygen transfer, biological activity with specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) measurements during endogenous/exogenous conditions (without any external substrate/with external substrate consumption) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal were measured to assess the AS performances. During the different stress times, AS deflocculated as a decrease of apparent viscosity was observed and microorganisms biodegraded the released EPS to survive. After aeration return, and under endogenous conditions, size exclusion chromatographic fingerprints of soluble EPS were modified and macromolecules probably of type humic-like substances appeared in significant quantities. These new macromolecules presumably acted as biosurfactants. Consequently, the liquid surface tension, as well as the oxygen transfer rate (OTR), decreased. Under exogenous conditions, high biological activity (SOUR = 11.8 +/- 2.1 mg(O2 x g(MLVSS)(-1) x h(-1)) compensated the decrease of oxygen transfer. Finally, AS biomass maintained a constant COD degradation rate (15.7 +/- 1.9 mg(O2) x g(MLVSS)(-1) x h(-1)) before and after the disturbances for all times tested. This work demonstrates that AS microorganisms can counteract concomitant oxygen and nutrients shortage when the duration of such a condition does not exceed 72 h. Dissociation of endogenous/exogenous conditions appears to offer an ideal laboratory model to study EPS and biomass activity effects on oxygen transfer.

Dissolved organic matter from treated effluent of a major wastewater treatment plant: characterization and influence on copper toxicity.

A combination of reverse osmosis (RO) concentration and DAX-8/XAD-4 resin adsorption techniques is used to isolate the various constituents of urban dissolved organic matter (DOM) from inorganic salts. Three fractions: hydrophobic (HPO), transphilic (TPI) and hydrophilic (HPI) accounting respectively for 35%, 20% and 45% of extracted carbon, are isolated from effluents of a major French wastewater treatment plant. This atypical DOC distribution, in comparison with natural water where the HPO fraction dominates, shows the significance of HPI fraction which often gets neglected because of extraction difficulties. A number of analytical techniques (elemental, spectroscopic: UV, FTIR) allow highlighting the weak aromaticity of wastewater effluent DOM (EfOM) due to fewer degradation and condensation processes and the strong presence of proteinaceous structures indicative of intense microbial activity. Copper toxicity in the presence of DOM is estimated using an acute toxicity test on Daphnia Magna (Strauss). Results reveal the similar protective role of each EfOM fraction compared to reference Suwannee river fulvic acid despite lower EfOM aromaticity (i.e. specific UV absorbance). The environmental implications of these results are discussed with respect to the development of site-specific water quality criteria.