Organic micropollutants in a large wastewater treatment plant: What are the benefits of an advanced treatment by activated carbon adsorption in comparison to conventional treatment?

Ronan Guillossou (1) , Julien Le Roux (1) , Romain Mailler (2) , Emmanuelle Vulliet (3) , Catherine Morlay (4) , Fabrice Nauleau (5) , Johnny Gasperi (1) , Vincent Rocher (2)

1 LEESU - Laboratoire Eau Environnement et Systèmes Urbains
2 SIAAP - Direction du Développement et de la Prospective
3 ISA-TRACES - Technologie et Recherche en Analyse Chimique pour l'Environnement et la Santé
4 MATEIS - Matériaux, ingénierie et science [Villeurbanne]
5 SAUR - Direction de la Recherche et Développement

Several advanced treatments, such as ozonation or activated carbon adsorption, are currently considered for the removal of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). However, little is known on the overall performances of a WWTP upgraded with those processes and the benefits provided regarding the elimination of multiple families of OMPs. In this study, 5 sampling campaigns were performed to determine the removal of 48 OMPs in a WWTP followed by an activated carbon pilot. The primary treatment had no effect on OMPs (removals < 20%), whereas the biological treatment removed OMPs that can be easily sorbed onto sludges or biodegraded (>60%). The additional elimination provided by the advanced treatment was not significant (<10%) for OMPs already well removed in the WWTP) but was substantial (>30%) for recalcitrant OMPs. Removals higher than 60% were obtained for all OMPs (except azithromycin and sulfamethoxazole) over the WWTP and the activated carbon pilot. The adsorption conditions (10 g/m3 fresh activated carbon addition) were not sufficient to achieve the 80% removal targeted in Switzerland for compounds suggested as indicator substances for wastewater treatment. A higher dose of activated carbon or the combination with another advanced treatment should be used to achieve a satisfactory removal of those compounds.

Mots clés: Wastewater treatment plant; Organic micropollutants; Activated carbon adsorption

Domaines: Génie chimique; Ingénierie de l'environnement

Ronan Guillossou, Julien Le Roux, Romain Mailler, Emmanuelle Vulliet, Catherine Morlay, et al.. Organic micropollutants in a large wastewater treatment plant: What are the benefits of an advanced treatment by activated carbon adsorption in comparison to conventional treatment?. Chemosphere, 2019, 218, pp.1050-1060. ⟨10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.11.182⟩. ⟨hal-01937641⟩