Ozonation of municipal waste water effluents: a tool for the removal of pharmaceuticals, EDCs and pathogens

摘要

Oxidation by means of ozone is proven to be a very promising treatment solution for the removal of Pharmaceuticals, EDCs and pathogens in effluents of municipal waste water treatment plants. Various research studies showed in detail the reaction behaviour of ozone in different waste waters. The ozone treatment shows advantages in comparison to chlorine oxidation and other advanced oxidation processes, e.g. UV/H_2O_2. Even in waste water matrices ozone reacts fast and specifically (non-radical mechanism) with many of the investigated compounds. Therefore it is possible to achieve treatment results (reduction rates > 90%) even with relatively low ozone dosage of 5 to 10 mg/L. It is possible to reduce the concentrations of specific contaminants, the pathogens and to eliminate estrogenicity. The operational cost of ozone treatment is in the range of 0.01 to 0.02 Euro per m~3 treated water. The integration of an ozone treatment step in different treatment chains, e.g. Biology-Ozone-Biofilter-UV enables the operators of treatment plants to be consistent with future regulations regarding persistent substances and disinfection goals.