Removal of priority and emerging substances by biological and tertiary treatments

My researches are divided in two principal parts. The first part concerns the fate of micropollutants in conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) composed by primary and biological treatments. Different studies have been held by OPUR research program on primary treatments, conventional activated sludge (CAS) and biofiltration (BF), the thesis will synthesize them and add data from measurement campaigns on industrial scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) unit. This will allow comparing existing units together and to increase knowledge on a very promising and innovative intensive process (MBR). Second part of researches concerns tertiary treatments, which are imported from drinking water industry, to improve quality of treatment regarding priority and emerging pollutants, and will monitor pharmaceuticals, pesticides and priority substances in a powdered activated carbon process at semi industrial scale, placed after a BF unit. Some laboratory scale tests will be held to better understand fundamental mechanisms and parameters which are involved in such a process. The interest of this project is to test a very promising technology on a large scale WWTP, and to provide data on a large range of micropollutants removal by adsorption tertiary treatment, which doesn’t create by products contrary to oxidation processes. In the context of regulations hardening and better understanding of micropollutants effects on environment and health, these new data are very relevant and interesting for scientists and water managers who wants to anticipate and not undergo regulations.