UV254 absorbance as real-time monitoring and control parameter for micropollutant removal in advanced wastewater treatment with powdered activated carbon.

This study investigates the applicability of UV absorbance measurements at 254 nm (UVA254) to serve as a simple and reliable surrogate parameter to monitor and control the removal of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in advanced wastewater treatment applying powdered activated carbon (PAC). Correlations between OMP removal and corresponding UVA254 reduction were determined in lab-scale adsorption batch tests and successfully applied to a pilot-scale PAC treatment stage to predict OMP removals in aggregate samples with good accuracy. Real-time UVA254 measurements were utilized to evaluate adapted PAC dosing strategies and proved to be effective for online monitoring of OMP removal. Furthermore, active PAC dosing control according to differential UVA254 measurements was implemented and tested. While precise removal predictions based on real-time measurements were not accurate for all OMPs, UVA254-controlled dynamic PAC dosing was capable of achieving stable OMP removals. UVA254 can serve as an effective surrogate parameter for OMP removal in technical PAC applications. Even though the applicability as control parameter to adjust PAC dosing to water quality changes might be limited to applications with fast response between PAC adjustment and adsorptive removal (e.g. direct filtration), UVA254 measurements can also be used to monitor the adsorption efficiency in more complex PAC applications.

Combination of granular activated carbon adsorption and deep-bed filtration as a single advanced wastewater treatment step for organic micropollutant and phosphorus removal.

Adsorption onto granular activated carbon (GAC) is an established technology in water and advanced wastewater treatment for the removal of organic substances from the liquid phase. Besides adsorption, the removal of particulate matter by filtration and biodegradation of organic substances in GAC contactors has frequently been reported. The application of GAC as both adsorbent for organic micropollutant (OMP) removal and filter medium for solids retention in tertiary wastewater filtration represents an energy- and space saving option, but has rarely been considered because high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and suspended solids concentrations in the influent of the GAC adsorber put a significant burden on this integrated treatment step and might result in frequent backwashing and unsatisfactory filtration efficiency. This pilot-scale study investigates the combination of GAC adsorption and deep-bed filtration with coagulation as a single advanced treatment step for simultaneous removal of OMPs and phosphorus from secondary effluent. GAC was assessed as upper filter layer in dual-media downflow filtration and as mono-media upflow filter with regard to filtration performance and OMP removal. Both filtration concepts effectively removed suspended solids and phosphorus, achieving effluent concentrations of 0.1 mg/L TP and 1 mg/L TSS, respectively. Analysis of grain size distribution and head loss within the filter bed showed that considerable head loss occurred in the topmost filter layer in downflow filtration, indicating that most particles do not penetrate deeply into the filter bed. Upflow filtration exhibited substantially lower head loss and effective utilization of the whole filter bed. Well-adsorbing OMPs (e.g. benzotriazole, carbamazepine) were removed by >80% up to throughputs of 8000-10,000 bed volumes (BV), whereas weakly to medium adsorbing OMPs (e.g. primidone, sulfamethoxazole) showed removals <80% at <5,000 BV. In addition, breakthrough behavior was also determined for gabapentin, an anticonvulsant drug recently detected in drinking water resources for which suitable removal technologies are still largely unknown. Gabapentin showed poor adsorptive removal, resulting in rapid concentration increases. Whereas previous studies classified gabapentin as not readily biodegradable, sustained removal was observed after prolonged operation and points at biological elimination of gabapentin within the GAC filter. The application of GAC as filter medium was compared to direct addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) to deep-bed filtration as a direct process alternative. Both options yielded comparable OMP removals for most compounds at similar carbon usage rates, but GAC achieved considerably higher removals for biodegradable OMPs. Based on the results, the application of GAC in combination with coagulation/filtration represents a promising alternative to powdered activated carbon and ozone for advanced wastewater treatment.

Integrating organic micropollutant removal into tertiary filtration: Combining PAC adsorption with advanced phosphorus removal.

Direct addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) to a deep-bed filter was investigated at pilot-scale as a single advanced treatment stage for simultaneous removal of organic micropollutants (OMPs) and phosphorus from secondary effluent. PAC doses of 10-50 mg/L were assessed with regard to their impacts on filter performance and removal of 15 selected OMPs over a period of 18 months. The PAC was effectively retained by the filter and had no negative effect on filter head loss. Filter runtime until particle breakthrough depended mainly on coagulant dose and did not decrease significantly due to the additional PAC load. Removal of suspended solids and phosphorus by coagulation was effective independent of the PAC dose. A PAC dose of 35 mg/L PAC was suitable to remove well-adsorbing OMPs (e.g. carbamazepine, diclofenac) by >80% and medium adsorbing OMPs (e.g. primidone, sulfamethoxazole) by 50-80%. Median removals were 50-80% for well-adsorbing and 30-50% for medium adsorbing OMPs with 20 mg/L PAC. Abatement of all OMPs was low (<50%) with 10 mg/L PAC, possibly because of the high effluent organic matter content (median dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations of 11.2 mg/L). In addition to adsorptive removal, relevant concentration decreases of certain OMPs (e.g. 4-formylaminoantipyrine) were attributed to biological transformation in the filter. Adsorption onto accumulating PAC in the top layer of the filter bed led to improved OMP adsorption with increasing filter runtime. The comparison of OMP removal in the pilot filter with laboratory adsorption tests demonstrates that batch test results can be applied to estimate adsorptive OMP removal in real applications.

How to dose powdered activated carbon in deep bed filtration for efficient micropollutant removal.

Direct addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) to the inlet of a deep bed filter represents an energy- and space-saving option to remove organic micropollutants (OMPs) during advanced wastewater treatment or drinking water purification. In this lab-scale study, continuous dosing, preconditioning a filter with PAC and combinations thereof were investigated as possible dosing modes with respect to OMP adsorption efficiency. Continuous dosing resulted in decreasing effluent concentrations with increasing filter runtime due to adsorption onto accumulating PAC in the filter bed. Approximately constant removal levels were achieved at longer filter runtimes, which were mainly determined by the dose of fresh PAC, rather than the total PAC amount embedded. The highest effluent concentrations were observed during the initial filtration stage. Meanwhile, preconditioning led to complete OMP adsorption at the beginning of filtration and subsequent gradual OMP breakthrough. PAC distribution in the pumice filter was determined by the loss on ignition of PAC and pumice and was shown to be relevant for adsorption efficiency. Preconditioning with turbulent upflow led to a homogenous PAC distribution and improved OMP adsorption significantly. Combining partial preconditioning and continuous dosing led to low initial effluent concentrations, but ultimately achieved concentrations similar to filter runs without preconditioning. Furthermore, a dosing stop prior to the end of filtration was suitable to increase PAC efficiency without affecting overall OMP removals.

Impacts of coagulation on the adsorption of organic micropollutants onto powdered activated carbon in treated domestic wastewater.

The application of powdered activated carbon (PAC) as an advanced wastewater treatment step for the removal of organic micropollutants (OMP) necessitates complete separation of the PAC particles, e.g. by coagulation. In this study, potential positive or negative indirect or direct effects of coagulation on the adsorption of OMPs onto PAC in treated wastewater were investigated. Although the concentration of dissolved organic matter (DOM) was significantly reduced by coagulation, the selective removal of mainly larger DOM components such as biopolymers and humic substances did not improve subsequent OMP adsorption onto PAC, demonstrating that coagulation has minor effects on DOM constituents that are relevant for direct competition or pore blocking. The combination of coagulation and adsorption yielded the sum of the individual removals, as adsorption predominantly affected smaller compounds. While the formation of flocs led to visible incorporation of PAC particles, no significant mass transfer limitations impeded the OMP adsorption. As a result, the dosing sequence of coagulant and PAC is not critical for efficient adsorption of OMPs onto PAC. The relationships between adsorptive OMP removal and corresponding reduction of UV absorption at 254 nm (UVA254) as a promising surrogate correlation for the real-time monitoring and PAC adjustment were affected by coagulation, leading to individual correlations depending on the water composition. Correcting for UVA254 reduction by coagulation produces adsorptive UVA254 removal, which correlates highly with OMP removal for different WWTP effluents and varying coagulant doses and can be applied in combined adsorption/coagulation processes to predict OMP removal and control PAC dosing.

Impact of EfOM size on competition in activated carbon adsorption of organic micro-pollutants from treated wastewater.

The competitive impacts of different fractions of wastewater treatment plant effluent organic matter (EfOM) on organic micro-pollutant (OMP) adsorption were investigated. The fractionation was accomplished using separation by nanofiltration (NF). The waters resulting from NF were additionally treated to obtain the same dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations as the initial water. Using size exclusion chromatography (LC-OCD) it could be shown that the NF treatment resulted in an EfOM separation by size. Adsorption tests showed different competitive effects of the EfOM fractions with the OMP. While large EfOM compounds that were retained in NF demonstrated a reduced competition as compared to the raw water, the NF-permeating EfOM compounds showed an increased competition with the majority of the measured OMP. The effects of small size EfOM are particularly negative for OMP which are weak/moderate adsorbates. Adsorption analysis was carried out for the differently fractionized waters. The small sized EfOM contain better adsorbable compounds than the raw water while the large EfOM are less adsorbable. This explains the observed differences in the EfOM competitiveness. The equivalent background compound (EBC) model was applied to model competitive adsorption between OMP and EfOM and showed that the negative impacts of EfOM on OMP adsorption increase with decreasing size of the EfOM fractions. The results suggest that direct competition for adsorption sites on the internal surface of the activated carbon is more substantial than indirect competition due to pore access restriction by blockage. Another explication for reduced competition by large EfOM compounds could be the inability to enter and block the pores due to size exclusion.

Direct comparison of ozonation and adsorption onto powdered activated carbon for micropollutant removal in advanced wastewater treatment.

Organic micropollutants (OMPs) may occur ubiquitously in the aquatic environment. In order to protect the ecosystem and drinking water sources from potentially toxic effects, discharges of an increasing number of OMPs are being regulated. OMP removal from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents as a point source is a preferred option with removal by adsorption onto powdered activated carbon (PAC) and OMP transformation to presumably harmless compounds by ozonation as the most promising techniques. In this study, effluents of four WWTPs were treated with PAC and ozone in bench-scale experiments to compare the removal efficiencies of seven relevant OMPs. Concentrations of carbamazepine and diclofenac were reduced by more than 90% with 20 mg/L PAC or 5-7 mg/L ozone (0.5 mg O3 per mg dissolved organic carbon (DOC)). Comparing typical doses for practical applications ozonation proved to be more efficient for abatement of sulfamethoxazole, while removal of benzotriazole and iomeprol was comparatively more efficient with activated carbon. While well known for ozonation, DOC-normalized doses were also applied to PAC and correlated better to relative OMP removal than volume proportional PAC addition. Furthermore, OMP removal efficiencies corresponded well with the reduction of ultraviolet light absorption at 254 nm for both treatment options.

Estimating organic micro-pollutant removal potential of activated carbons using UV absorption and carbon characteristics.

Eight commercially available powdered activated carbons (PAC) were examined regarding organic micro-pollutant (OMP) removal efficiencies in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. PAC characteristic numbers such as B.E.T. surface, iodine number and nitrobenzene number were checked for their potential to predict the OMP removal of the PAC products. Furthermore, the PAC-induced removal of UV254 nm absorption (UVA254) in WWTP effluent was determined and also correlated with OMP removal. None of the PAC characteristic numbers can satisfactorily describe OMP removal and accordingly, these characteristics have little informative value on the reduction of OMP concentrations in WWTP effluent. In contrast, UVA254 removal and OMP removal correlate well for carbamazepine, diclofenac, and several iodinated x-ray contrast media. Also, UVA254 removal can roughly describe the average OMP removal of all measured OMP, and can accordingly predict PAC performance in OMP removal. We therefore suggest UVA254 as a handy indicator for the approximation of OMP removal in practical applications where direct OMP concentration quantification is not always available. In continuous operation of large-scale plants, this approach allows for the efficient adjustment of PAC dosing to UVA254, in order to ensure reliable OMP removal whilst minimizing PAC consumption.