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Enhanced Biological Wastewater Treatment to Produce Effluents Suitable for Reuse

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Advanced Treatment Technologies for Urban Wastewater Reuse

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 45))

Abstract

Enhanced performance of biological processes for xenobiotic removal in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants can be achieved by adopting the following general strategies based on different principles of operation: increase of the biomass concentration (i.e., using biofilm, immobilized cell, and granular sludge reactors); dynamic operating conditions able to modify the biocenosis composition and to induce alternative metabolic pathways required by xenobiotic biodegradation; two-phase systems, which optimize the substrate delivery to the microorganisms on the basis of their metabolic demand; and combined treatment processes utilizing synergistic physical/chemical methods.

In this chapter, the three following strategies for enhancing the biological process are presented and discussed:

  • Addition of adsorption or absorption media

  • Advanced oxidation processes: UV and UV/H2O2

  • Bioreactors operated with attached and granular biomass

The proposed alternatives have been chosen as representative examples of promising technological solutions still under investigation. For each alternative a short presentation including the principle of operation, the realized applications and potentialities, as well as a case study is reported.

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Abbreviations

4 t-OP:

4-tert-Octylphenol

AC:

Activated carbon

AOPs:

Advanced oxidation processes

BPA:

Bisphenol A

C:

Concentration

C0 :

Initial concentration

COD:

Chemical oxygen demand

DCP:

2,4-Dichlorophenol

DOM:

Dissolved organic matter

E1:

Estrone

E2:

17β-Estradiol

EC50 :

Effective concentration that gives the half-maximal response

EDs:

Endocrine disruptors

EE2:

17α-Ethynylestradiol

GAC:

Granular activated carbon

GSBR:

Granular sequencing batch reactor

HPLC/MS:

High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

MMTD:

5-Methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-thiol

MW:

Molecular weight

OLR:

Organic loading rate

PE:

Population equivalent

PCB:

Polychlorinated biphenyl

PLC:

Programmable logic controller

PVC:

Polyvinyl chloride

SBBGR:

Sequencing batch biofilter granular reactor

SBR:

Sequencing batch reactor

SIM:

Selected ion monitoring

TOC:

Total organic carbon

TPPB:

Two-phase partitioning bioreactor

TSS:

Total suspended solids

UV:

Ultraviolet

Vis:

Visible

VSS:

Volatile suspended solids

WWTP:

Wastewater treatment plant

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Water Research Institute, C.N.R., Via Salaria km 29,300 C.P. 10, Monterotondo Stazione (Rome), 00015, Italy

    M. Concetta Tomei

  2. Water Research Institute CNR, Viale F. De Blasio 5, Bari, 70132, Italy

    Guido Del Moro, Claudio Di Iaconi & Giuseppe Mascolo

Authors
  1. M. Concetta Tomei
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  2. Guido Del Moro
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  3. Claudio Di Iaconi
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  4. Giuseppe Mascolo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Concetta Tomei .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Despo Fatta-Kassinos

  2. Department of Biomedical, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Dionysios D. Dionysiou

  3. Institute of Sustainable and Environmental Chemistry, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Niedersachsen, Germany

    Klaus Kümmerer

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Tomei, M.C., Del Moro, G., Di Iaconi, C., Mascolo, G. (2015). Enhanced Biological Wastewater Treatment to Produce Effluents Suitable for Reuse. In: Fatta-Kassinos, D., Dionysiou, D., Kümmerer, K. (eds) Advanced Treatment Technologies for Urban Wastewater Reuse . The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 45. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2015_362

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