Publications Repository - Gdańsk University of Technology

Due to increasingly scarce water resources worldwide, their reclamation is essential. Therefore, the water sector explores solutions that comply with EU requirements for water reuse. Wastewater advance oxidation processes (AOPs) are promising methods to increase the circular economy in the water sector. This investigation evaluated the combination of two different AOPs – electrolysis (EO) using boron diamond doped electrodes, and ozonation (O3) – for medical wastewater (MWW) treatment. MWWs are rich with pharmaceuticals and personal care products at the level of μgL− 1 . The synergistic effect of EO-O3 under the studied parameters is most visible in the disinfection process, which led to 99.99 % of E. coli and Enterococcus spp. bacteria deactivation within 2 h of the process, which was not observed in the single process (EO or O3) under the same settings. The positive effect of the combined AOPs method in terms of metoprolol, sulfamethoxazole and acetaminophen is visible in the removal of 99.4 %, 99.4 % and 99.5 %, respectively. This work shows that the EO-O3 process enhances disinfection potential and reduces environmental risk and wastewater toxicity compared to ozonation and electrolysis alone. The strength of AOPs increases when modules are combined, enabling proper adjustment of parameters based on the initial load of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) (fit-for-purpose). However, to ensure the safe reuse of treated wastewater, it is still essential to evaluate the presence of PPCPs’ transformation products, enabling sustainable water reclamation and supporting climate change mitigation, particularly in remote areas.

Authors

• mgr inż. Emilia Bączkowska link open in new tab ,
• dr Mattia Pierpaoli link open in new tab ,
• dr inż. Filip Gamoń link open in new tab ,
• prof. dr hab. inż. Aneta Łuczkiewicz link open in new tab ,
• dr hab. inż. Sylwia Fudala-Książek link open in new tab ,
• dr hab. inż. Rafał Bray link open in new tab ,
• dr inż. Małgorzata Szopińska link open in new tab