Perspectives of persistent organic pollutants (POPS) removal in an MBR pilot plant Original Research Article

In the last years, increasing attention has been paid on the presence of POPs in water. It has been found that wastewaters and wastewater treatment plant effluents are the main source of surface and ground water pollution. Therefore, it seems important to improve the removal efficiency of such compounds in wastewater treatment plant as well as to understand the different mechanisms involved. The implementation of a pilot scale MBR in parallel of a large conventional biological treatment plant will allow the comparison of both processes, as well as to observe the effect of a much higher SRT on POPs removal. Biodegradation efficiencies of target compounds are going to be assessed through the use of a microcalorimeter Bio-RC1. Moreover, the effect of POPs concentration in the feeding solution will be studied. Attention will be focused on inhibition and adaptation to the chosen pollutants, through the analysis of the responses to POPʹs pulses and continuous flow.