PMID- 30616044
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20190924
LR  - 20221207
IS  - 1879-2448 (Electronic)
IS  - 0043-1354 (Linking)
VI  - 151
DP  - 2019 Mar 15
TI  - Trace organic contaminant removal in six full-scale integrated fixed-film 
      activated sludge (IFAS) systems treating municipal wastewater.
PG  - 318-331
LID - S0043-1354(18)31060-1 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.watres.2018.12.042 [doi]
AB  - Trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) often pass through conventional activated 
      sludge wastewater treatment plants (CAS-WWTPs) and are discharged into surface 
      waters, where they can threaten aquatic ecosystems and human health, largely due 
      to the hormone disrupting effects of certain TrOCs. The integrated fixed-film 
      activated sludge (IFAS) process is a cost-effective means of upgrading CAS-WWTPs 
      by adding free-floating carrier media, which promotes biofilm formation in the 
      well-mixed suspended growth reactors, providing a potential niche for 
      slow-growing microorganisms. Although IFAS upgrades are typically aimed at 
      enhancing nutrient removal, limited bench- and pilot-scale data indicate that 
      TrOC removal may also be improved. However, only limited reports which focus on a 
      small number of compounds in individual full-scale IFAS-WWTPs have been published 
      to date, and no data is available regarding the removal of estrogenic activity in 
      full-scale IFAS-WWTPs. In this study, six full-scale IFAS-WWTPs were surveyed to 
      quantify TrOC and estrogenic activity removal. Twenty-four hour composite samples 
      of secondary influent and effluent (pre-disinfection) were analyzed for total 
      suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia, total nitrogen 
      (TN), total phosphorus (TP), estrogenic activity, and 98 TrOCs. The biomass 
      distribution between the suspended growth phase (i.e. mixed liquor) and IFAS 
      media was also assessed. All IFAS-WWTPs performed well in terms of TSS, COD, and 
      ammonia removal. TN removal varied in accordance with nitrate removal. Total 
      solids per liter of wetted reactor volume ranged from 2.5 to 7.6 g, with 40-60% 
      attached to media. TrOCs with no detection (17) and those with high median 
      removal (23, >/=90% average removal) were observed. Other TrOCs had lower and more 
      variable removal efficiencies. Qualitative comparison with CAS literature shows 
      potentially higher IFAS removal efficiencies for a number of compounds including 
      several which have been previously indicated in bench- or pilot-scale studies 
      (atenolol, diclofenac, gemfibrozil, DEET, 4-nonylphenol, and 4-tert-octylphenol), 
      as well as the chlorinated flame retardants TCIPP and TDCIPP. Effluent estrogenic 
      activity was found to be similar to that reported for full-scale CAS-WWTPs. These 
      results provide the first survey of multiple full-scale IFAS-WWTPs employing 
      mobile plastic carrier media in terms of basic chemical endpoints (removal of 
      ammonia, TN, TP, and COD), the distribution of solids within the systems, and the 
      removal of TrOCs and estrogenic activity.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
FAU - Shreve, Michael J
AU  - Shreve MJ
AD  - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State 
      University, 212 Sackett Building, University Park, PA, USA, 16802.
FAU - Brennan, Rachel A
AU  - Brennan RA
AD  - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State 
      University, 212 Sackett Building, University Park, PA, USA, 16802. Electronic 
      address: rbrennan@engr.psu.edu.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
DEP - 20181227
PL  - England
TA  - Water Res
JT  - Water research
JID - 0105072
RN  - 0 (Sewage)
RN  - 0 (Waste Water)
RN  - 27YLU75U4W (Phosphorus)
SB  - IM
MH  - Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis
MH  - Bioreactors
MH  - Ecosystem
MH  - Phosphorus
MH  - *Sewage
MH  - Waste Disposal, Fluid
MH  - *Wastewater
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Endocrine disrupting compounds
OT  - Estrogenic activity
OT  - Integrated fixed-film activated sludge
OT  - Municipal wastewater
OT  - Pharmaceuticals and personal care products
OT  - Trace organic contaminants
EDAT- 2019/01/08 06:00
MHDA- 2019/09/26 06:00
CRDT- 2019/01/08 06:00
PHST- 2018/07/17 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2018/12/04 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2018/12/06 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2019/01/08 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2019/09/26 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2019/01/08 06:00 [entrez]
AID - S0043-1354(18)31060-1 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.watres.2018.12.042 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Water Res. 2019 Mar 15;151:318-331. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2018.12.042. Epub 2018 
      Dec 27.