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Tier 2
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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Remediation
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Adaptable Process Design as a Key for Sustainability Upgrades in Wastewater Treatment: Comparative Study on the Removal of Micropollutants by Advanced Oxidation and Granular Activated Carbon Processing at a German Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant
Sustainability2022
25 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 50
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Anika Korzin,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Anika Korzin,
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Michael Sturm,
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Katrin Schuhen
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Michael Sturm,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Erika Myers,
Erika Myers,
Erika Myers,
Erika Myers,
Erika Myers,
Erika Myers,
Erika Myers,
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Erika Myers,
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Michael Sturm,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Anika Korzin,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Katrin Schuhen
Anika Korzin,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Erika Myers,
Dennis Schober,
Erika Myers,
Dennis Schober,
Erika Myers,
Dennis Schober,
Erika Myers,
Anika Korzin,
Michael Sturm,
Anika Korzin,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Michael Sturm,
Erika Myers,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Clara Thege,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Clara Thege,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Katrin Schuhen
Clara Thege,
Anika Korzin,
Anika Korzin,
Clara Thege,
Anika Korzin,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Anika Korzin,
Dennis Schober,
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Dennis Schober,
Katrin Schuhen
Erika Myers,
Dennis Schober,
Katrin Schuhen
Dennis Schober,
Katrin Schuhen
Erika Myers,
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Dennis Schober,
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Katrin Schuhen
Summary
Researchers compared advanced oxidation (UV + H2O2) and granular activated carbon for micropollutant removal in wastewater, finding that advanced oxidation achieved up to 97% removal with greater process flexibility and lower resource consumption.
Study Type
Environmental
Micropollutants have been increasingly detected at low concentrations in surface waters and may have harmful effects on humans, organisms, and the environment. As wastewater treatment plants are one of the main sources of micropollutants, conventional wastewater treatment methods and plants (mainly one to three cleaning stages) must be improved through an advanced (fourth) treatment stage. The optimal fourth treatment stage should be determined based not only on removal efficiencies but also on a holistic sustainability assessment that further considers the process’s adaptability, economic, environmental, and social parameters. The ability of a tertiary wastewater treatment plant to remove organic pollutants was investigated over four months using two different advanced treatment methods: (1) an advanced oxidation process (AOP) (using UV + H2O2) and (2) granular activated carbon (GAC). The resulting average micropollutant removal efficiencies were 76.4 ± 6.2% for AOP and 90.0 ± 4.6% for GAC. As the GAC became saturated, it showed a decreasing performance from 97.6% in week one to 80.7% in week 13, after 2184 bed volumes were processed. For the AOP, adjusting the UV and H2O2 doses results in higher removal efficiencies. With 40 ppm H2O2 and 10 kJ/m2 UV, a removal of 97.1% was achieved. Furthermore, the flexibility and adaptability of the AOP process to adjust to real-time water quality, along with a lower resource consumption and waste disposal, make it a more promising technology when comparing the sustainability aspects of the two methods.