A case-study on the accuracy of mass balances for xenobiotics in full-scale wastewater treatment plants.

Removal efficiencies of micropollutants in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are usually evaluated from mass balance calculations using a small number of observations drawn from short sampling campaigns. Since micropollutant loads can vary greatly in both influent and effluent and reactor tanks exhibit specific hydraulic residence times, these short-term approaches are particularly prone to yield erroneous removal values. A detailed investigation of micropollutant transit times at full-scale and on how this affects mass balancing results was still lacking.

Active heterotrophic biomass and sludge retention time (SRT) as determining factors for biodegradation kinetics of pharmaceuticals in activated sludge.

The present study investigates the biodegradation of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) by active biomass in activated sludge. Active heterotrophs (X(bh)) which are known to govern COD removal are suggested as a determining factor for biological PhAC removal as well. Biodegradation kinetics of five polar PhACs were determined in activated sludge of two wastewater treatment plants which differed in size, layout and sludge retention time (SRT).