Despite the significant reduction of phosphorus (P) discharge in the Baltic Sea in the last decades, obtained through the implementation of some approaches within the Helsinki Convention, eutrophication is still considered the biggest problem for the Baltic Sea environment. Consequently, the reduction of P load is an urgent need to solve, but the complexity of both the environmental and legislative context of the area makes this process difficult (more than in the past). Eutrophication is an intricate issue requiring a proper framework of governance that is not easy to determine in the Baltic Sea Region where the needs of several different countries converge. To identify the most suitable strategy to reduce the eutrophication in the Baltic Sea, the InPhos project (no. 17022, 2018–2019, funded by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) Raw Materials) adopted a holistic approach considering technical, political, economic, environmental and social aspects of P management. With the aims to raise awareness about the P challenge, foster the dialogue among all the stakeholders, and find solutions already developed in other countries (such as Germany and Switzerland) to be transferred in the Baltic Sea Region, the InPhos project consortium applied the methodology proposed in this paper, consisting of three main phases: (i) analysis of the available technologies to remove P from waste streams that contribute to eutrophication; (ii) analysis of the main streams involving P in Baltic Sea countries to highlight the potential of more sustainable and circular P management; (iii) study of the current context (e.g., already-existing initiatives and issues). This approach allowed us to identify four categories of recommendations and practical actions proposed to improve P management in the Baltic Sea region. During the project, the consortium mainly addressed social aspects. Following steps beyond the project will be more quantitative to determine the techno-economic feasibility of circular P management in selected demo cases in the region.

Pharmaceutical wastewater biological treatment plants are stressed with multi-component wastewater and unexpected variations in wastewater flow, composition and toxicity. To avoid operational problems and reduced wastewater treatment efficiency, accurate monitoring of influent toxicity on activated sludge microorganisms is essential. This paper outlines how to predict highly toxic streams, which should be avoided, using measurements of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), if they are made in a wide range of initial concentration. The results indicated that wastewater containing multivalent Al 3+ cations showed a strong toxic effect on activated sludge biocenosis irrespectively of dilutions, while toxicity of phenol and formaldehyde containing wastewater decreased considerably with increasing dilution. Activated sludge microorganisms were not sensitive to wastewater containing halogenated sodium salts (NaCl, NaF) and showed high treatment capacity of saline wastewater. Our findings confirm that combined indicators of contamination, such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), alone do not allow evaluating potential toxic influence of wastewater. Obtained results allow identifying key inhibitory substances in pharmaceutical wastewater and evaluating potential impact of new wastewater streams or increased loading on biological treatment system. Proposed method is sensitive and cost effective and has potential for practical implementation in multiproduct pharmaceutical wastewater biological treatment plants. Keywords -Activated sludge; biochemical oxygen demand; pharmaceutical wastewater; toxicity Nomenclature BODBiochemical oxygen demand mg/L COD Chemical oxygen demand mg/L

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Ecological harm and human health risks caused by environmental pollution with active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) nowadays is recognised as issue of growing concern. Widespread presence of human and veterinary API in aquatic environment clearly indicates persistence and low removal efficiency of these compounds at conventional pharmaceutical and municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Bioaugmentation of activated sludge systems with specialized microorganisms could be a powerful and environmentally friendly tool to enhance the removal efficiency of recalcitrant API. Selection of inoculum strains, that have appropriate enzymatic pathways to metabolise complex molecules of API, belonging to different therapeutic classes, is of great importance. This study evaluated the potential of pure cultures of 10 bacteria, 10 yeasts and 3 filamentous fungi previously isolated from activated sludge of pharmaceutical WWTP to degrade less investigated API – Oxytocin, Zopiclone and Meldonium dihydrate as sole carbon source and in cometabolic manner with presence of skim milk powder as additional nutrient source. Bacteria Sphingobacterium thalpophilum and filamentous fungi Fusarium solani and Fusarium udum showed very high treatment efficiency of all tested API in laboratory-scale bioaugmentation tests and were recognized as culture with high metabolic potential to be used in bioaugmentation for removal of pharmaceutical micropollutants.