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Persistent Identifier
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perma:LIST.JUSCEQ |
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Publication Date
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2025-09-26 |
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Title
| European scale assessment of the potential of ozonation and activated carbon treatment to reduce micropollutant emissions with wastewater [* Cross-Reference *] |
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Other Identifier
| https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157124 |
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Author
| Pistocchi, Alberto (European Commission Joint Research Centre)
Alygizakis, Nikiforos A. (Environmental Institute, Slovakia)
Brack, Werner (Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main)
Boxall, Alistair (University of York)
Cousins, Ian T. (Stockholms universitet)
Drewes, Jörg E. (Technische Universität München)
Finckh, Saskia (Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung)
Gallé, Tom (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology)
Launay, Marie A. (Universität Stuttgart)
McLachlan, Michael S. (Stockholms universitet)
Petrovic, Mira (Catalan Institute for Water Research)
Schulze, Tobias (Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung)
Slobodnik, Jaroslav (Environmental Institute, Slovakia)
Ternes, Thomas (Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde)
Van Wezel, Annemarie (Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics - Amsterdam)
Verlicchi, Paola (University of Ferrara)
Whalley, Caroline (European Environment Agency, Denmark) |
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Point of Contact
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Use email button above to contact.
LIST RDS (LIST) |
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Description
| Micropollutants (MPs) in wastewater pose a growing concern for their potential adverse effects on the receiving aquatic environment, and some countries have started requiring that wastewater treatment plants remove them to a certain extent. Broad spectrum advanced treatment processes, such as ozonation, activated carbon or their combination, are expected to yield a significant reduction in the toxicity of effluents. Here we quantify the reduction of effluent toxicity potentially achieved by implementing these advanced treatment solutions in a selection of European wastewater treatment plants. To this end, we refer to a list of “total pollution proxy substances” (TPPS) composed of 1337 chemicals commonly found in wastewater effluents according to a compilation of datasets of measured concentrations. We consider these substances as an approximation of the “chemical universe” impinging on the European wastewater system. We evaluate the fate of the TPPS in conventional and advanced treatment plants using a compilation of experimental physicochemical properties that describe their sorption, volatilization and biodegradation during activated sludge treatment, as well as known removal efficiency in ozonation and activated carbon treatment, while filling the gaps through in silico prediction models. We estimate that the discharge of micropollutants with wastewater effluents in the European Union has a cumulative MP toxicity to the environment equal to the discharge of untreated wastewater of ca. 160 million population equivalents (PE), i.e. about 30 % of the generated wastewater in the EU. If all plants above a capacity of 100,000 PE were equipped with advanced treatment, we show that this load would be reduced to about 95 million PE. In addition, implementing advanced treatment in wastewater plants above 10,000 PE discharging to water bodies with an average dilution ratio smaller than 10 would yield a widespread improvement in terms of exposure of freshwater ecosystems to micropollutants, almost halving the part of the stream network exposed to the highest toxic risks. Our analysis provides background for a cost-effectiveness appraisal of advanced treatment “at the end of the pipe”, which could lead to optimized interventions. This should not be regarded as a stand-alone solution, but as a complement to policies for the control of emissions at the source for the most problematic MPs. (2023-02-22)
***This entry has been automatically imported via Infodoc(ASO) CSV by LIST harvest scripts. Please refer to https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157124 for the original and latest version of the dataset and data downloads*** (2025-09-02) |
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Subject
| Earth and Environmental Sciences |
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Keyword
| Advanced wastewater treatment
ozonation
total pollution proxy substances
toxicity indicators
activated carbon |
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Deposit Date
| 2023-02-22 |
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Data Type
| Article |
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Data Source
| Science of the Total Environment |