title: Removal of pharmaceuticals in conventionally treated wastewater by a polishing moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) with intermittent feeding.
abstract: Previous studies have demonstrated that aerobic moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) remove pharmaceuticals better than activated sludge. Thus we used a MBBR system to polish the effluent of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant. To overcome that effluent contains insufficient organic matter to sustain enough biomass, the biofilm was intermittently fed with raw wastewater. The capacity of pharmaceutical degradation was investigated by spiking pharmaceuticals. Actual removal during treatment was assessed by sampling the inlets and outlets of reactors. The removal of the majority of pharmaceuticals was enhanced through the intermittent feeding of the MBBR. First-order rate constants for pharmaceutical removal, normalised to biomass, were significantly higher compared to other studies on activated sludge and suspended biofilms, especially for diclofenac, metoprolol and atenolol. Due to the intermittently feeding, degradation of diclofenac occurred with a half-life of only 2.1h and was thus much faster than any hitherto described wastewater bioreactor treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark; Environmental Science, Århus University, Frederiksborgsvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark.
authors.forename: Gordon T H
authors.initials: GTH
authors.lastname: Ooi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Danish Technological Institute, Kongsvang Allé 29, DK-8000 Århus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Litty
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies - Krüger A/S, Gladsaxevej 363, DK 2860 Soeborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sundmark
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kamilla M S
authors.initials: KMS
authors.lastname: Kaarsholm
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies - Krüger A/S, Gladsaxevej 363, DK 2860 Soeborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sund
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Danish Technological Institute, Kongsvang Allé 29, DK-8000 Århus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kragelund
authors.affiliation: Veolia Water Technologies - AnoxKaldnes, Klosterängsvägen 11A, Se-226 47 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Christensson
authors.affiliation: Environmental Science, Århus University, Frederiksborgsvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bester
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark. Electronic address: hran@env.dtu.dk.
authors.forename: Henrik R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Andersen
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms; D019149:Bioreactors; D012722:Sewage; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D062065:Wastewater
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Degradation; Diclofenac; End-of-pipe; Pharmaceuticals; Suspended biofilm