Indicator Compounds Representative of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) Found in the Water Cycle in the United States.

The presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in the aquatic environment has recently become a global issue. The very large number of CECs reported in the literature makes it difficult to interpret potential risks as well as the removal efficiencies, especially for the more recalcitrant compounds. As such, there is a need for indicator compounds that are representative of CECs detected in systems worldwide.

Microbial community analysis in biologically active filters exhibiting efficient removal of emerging contaminants and impact of operational conditions.

In biologically active filters (BAFs), microorganisms acclimated on the media surface are the key players responsible for removing organic water contaminants. In this study, next generation sequencing by Illumina MiSeq was used to characterize the microbial community structures in the influent, effluent, and media of a set of bench-scale BAFs that have been demonstrated with high removal efficiency (>75%) of 16 contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), which include a variety of pharmaceuticals (e.g.

Biologically active filters - An advanced water treatment process for contaminants of emerging concern.

With the increasing concern of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in source water, this study examines the hypothesis that existing filters in water treatment plants can be converted to biologically active filters (BAFs) to treat these compounds. Removals through bench-scale BAFs were evaluated as a function of media, granular activated carbon (GAC) and dual media, empty bed contact time (EBCT), and pre-ozonation. For GAC BAFs, greater oxygen consumption, increased pH drop, and greater dissolved organic carbon removal normalized to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were observed indicating increased microbial activity as compared to anthracite/sand dual media BAFs.

A pilot plant study using conventional and advanced water treatment processes: Evaluating removal efficiency of indicator compounds representative of pharmaceuticals and personal care products.

With widespread occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the water cycle, their presence in source water has led to the need to better understand their treatability and removal efficiency in treatment processes. Fifteen indicator compounds were identified to represent the large number of PPCPs reported worldwide. Criteria applied to determine the indicator compounds included PPCPs widely used, observed at great frequency in aqueous systems, resistant to treatment, persistent in the environment, and representative of classes of organics.