The objective of this study has been to develop technologies that can reduce the content of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and bacteria from hospital wastewater. The results from the laboratory- and pilot-scale testings showed that efficient removal of the vast majority of APIs could be achieved by a membrane bioreactor (MBR) followed by ozone, ozone + hydrogen peroxide or powdered activated carbon (PAC). Chlorine dioxide (ClO(2)) was significantly less effective. MBR + PAC (450 mg/l) was the most efficient technology, while the most cost-efficient technology was MBR + ozone (156 mg O(3)/l applied over 20 min). With MBR an efficient removal of Escherichia coli and enterococci was measured, and no antibiotic resistant bacteria were detected in the effluent. With MBR + ozone and MBR + PAC also the measured effluent concentrations of APIs (e.g. ciprofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole and sulfamethizole) were below available predicted no-effect concentrations (PNEC) for the marine environment without dilution. Iodinated contrast media were also reduced significantly (80-99% for iohexol, iopromide and ioversol and 40-99% for amidotrizoateacid). A full-scale MBR treatment plant with ozone at a hospital with 900 beds is estimated to require an investment cost of €1.6 mill. and an operating cost of €1/m(3) of treated water.

To study the long-term dynamics of trihalomethanes (THMs) in a warm (31-33 degrees C) public swimming pool, we built a robust membrane inlet mass spectrometer that could perform unsupervised, on-site monitoring of the concentration of these compounds with off-site, real-time surveillance. The instrument was installed in a technical room below the pool and operated continuously for more than a year practically only interrupted for filament replacements every 6-8 weeks. One to two days after a filament replacement, the instrument stabilized and kept its calibration until shortly before the next filament burnout. The on-line monitoring of THMs revealed a daily rhythm in the concentrations of chloroform and bromodichloromethane. They increased during the pool's closing hours and decreased during opening hours with the minimum concentration being approximately half of the maximum. Over the 1 year monitoring period, the variation in the maximum registered daily concentration was 30-100 microg/L for chloroform. The variation of bromodichloromethane was 5-10 microg/L, except during bursts of 1-2 days duration, where the concentration of bromodichloromethane could reach 100 microg/L. The burst in bromodichloromethane concentration was directly correlated with salt addition (sodium chloride) to the pool water for use in the pool's electrolytic in-line chlorination system. A correlation between THM removal from the pool water and the operation of a strong water jet system was also found.

The strength of activated sludge flocs is important for the flocculation, settling and dewatering properties of activated sludge and thus the performance of wastewater treatment plants. Little is known about how different bacteria affect the floc properties, so in this study it was investigated whether the strength and other characteristics of large microcolonies within activated sludge flocs from a full-scale nutrient removal plant varied significantly between different phylogenetic groups of bacteria. The investigation was carried out by using a shear method for deflocculation of activated sludge flocs, combined with different chemical manipulations under defined conditions. The identification and quantification of the microcolony-forming bacteria were conducted with group-specific gene probes and fluorescence in situ hybridization. The focus was on the microcolonies and not on the entire sludge flocs. In general, the results showed large difference in the strength and colloid-chemical properties of the different probe-defined microcolonies. By applying extensive shear to the system, less than 12% of the microcolony biovolume of the Beta-, Gamma- and Deltaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria could be disrupted, thus forming strong microcolonies. Alphaproteobacteria and Firmicutes formed weaker microcolonies (42-61% could be disrupted by shear). For most groups, several intermolecular forces determined the strength of the microcolonies: hydrophobic interactions, cross-linking by multivalent cations and perhaps entanglements of extracellular polymeric substances. However, the dominant force varied between the various phylogenetic groups. The large difference between the different phylogenetic groups indicated that only a few species were present within each group, rather than many different bacterial species within each phylogenetic group had similar floc properties.

The presence of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) in recirculated aquaculture systems has a significant negative impact on the fish production due to poor flavour quality of produced fish and increased risk of rejection by fish processers. Advanced Oxidation Processes has a high potential for removal of geosmin and MIB in water and in this study UV/H2O2 and UV/O3 has been tested in pilot scale in real aquaculture process water. First order degradations constants were between 0.6 (UV/O3) and 1.2 (UV/H2O2) h−1 for geosmin and 1.3 (UV/O3)–1.5 (UV/H2O2) h−1 for MIB. This corresponded to average half-lives between 34–69 minutes for geosmin and between 28–32 minutes for MIB. These values were one order of magnitude higher than previously reported for degradation of geosmin and MIB in demineralised and tap-water. The slower degradation rates were caused by competitive and inhibitive processes from the water matrix. The influence of the water matrix also caused increased energy consumption with EEO values 16 to 38 times higher than previously reported for geosmin and MIB removal in tap water. Improved feasibility of removing geosmin and MIB in recirculated aquaculture systems by AOPs requires pre-treatment to minimize the impact of the water matrix on the degradation kinetics.

The technical performance of a precoat filter was compared with that of a traditional sand filter. Particle concentration and size distribution were measured before and after the filtration of swimming pool water. Both the sand and precoat filters could reduce the particle concentration in the effluent. However, higher particle removal efficiency was generally observed for the precoat filter, especially for particles smaller than 10 μm in diameter. Adding flocculant improved the removal efficiency of the sand filter, resulting in removal efficiencies comparable to those of the precoat filter. Three powders, i.e., two types of perlite (Harbolite and Aquatec perlite) and cellulose fibers (Arbocel), were tested for the precoat filter, but no significant difference in particle removal efficiency was observed among them. The maximum efficiency was reached within 30-40 min of filtration. The energy required for the pumps increased by approximately 35% over a period of 14 days. The energy consumption could be reduced by replacing the powder on the filter cloth. The sand filter was backwashed once a week, while the powder on the precoat filter was replaced every two weeks. Under these conditions, it was possible to reduce the water used for cleaning by 88% if the precoat filter was used instead of the sand filter.