Steps towards improving quality of BSR waters by advanced treatment processes

The AdvIQwater project titled “Improving Quality of Baltic Sea Region Waters by Advanced Treatment Processes” addresses pressing environmental concerns about the presence of micropollutants in water and their implications for sustainability.

Anna Zielińska-Jurek, project coordinator, Gdańsk Univeristy of Technology: In the AdvIQwater project, funded by Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme under Priority 2: Water-Smart Societies and Objective 2.1: Sustainable Waters, we focus on developing possible combined solutions for the degradation of metabolised and unchanged pharmaceuticals, as well as the removal of heavy metals.

The main objective of the project is to highlight the proactive approach for sustainable use of advanced treatment technologies to prevent micropollutants and emerging contaminants from reaching the Baltic Sea and to disseminate this knowledge to the Baltic Sea Region in cooperation with local authorities, service providers, and policy-making community. By working together on advanced wastewater treatment technologies, we strive to improve water management and ensure a sustainable future for the Baltic Sea.

The growing problem of water pollution with pharmaceuticals.

Anna Zielińska-Jurek: Why is it important to remove trace amounts of pharmaceuticals that are produced globally, consumed by humans, and used in veterinary medicine in thousands of tons each year?

As a consequence, the widespread use of pharmaceuticals has led to their detection in trace amounts in soil, surface and groundwaters.The occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the environment results from their release from various sources, including drug manufacturing, hospitals, residences, agriculture, and livestock farms. The pharmaceuticals consumed are not fully metabolised and are excreted by humans and animals in both unmodified and modified forms, as metabolites and transformation products.

Ewa Siedlecka, Polish Ecological Club Pomeranian District: The level of micropollutants, including medicines, discharged together with treated sewage is significant. Our treatment plants haven’t been designed to remove this type of difficult-to-biodegrade pollutants and, like other treatment plants in Europe, they are based mainly on mechanical and biological treatment processes.

We are aware that without the introduction of the stage of removing micropollutants from wastewater, the concentration of medicines in the environment will increase. The presence of medicines in the environment results in medicine resistance in bacteria. If we don’t reduce the introduction of medicines into water, we may have to develop new types of antibiotics, because the ones that currently work will no longer be effective.

Anna Zielińska-Jurek: The AdvIQwater project has helped build the foundations for future regional implementation of technologies for effective micropollutans removal from water.

Project transnational seminars and educational events, such as the Baltic Science Festival, raise awareness about the presence of pharmaceuticals in surface waters and promote knowledge about advanced technologies for micropollutant removal, disseminating this knowledge to society.

We discussed the technologies and proposed solutions during organised in Gdańsk, Aarchus and Tartu transnational seminars.

At the seminar with a showcase of pilot installation organised in Gdańsk, a total of 32 participants registered, which proved to be a dynamic platform for rich discussions, fostering collaboration and innovation. During the seminar in Aarhus, representatives from HELCOM were invited and participated. Jørgen Skaarup from Hillerød Forsyning presented the results of the cooperation, and Jóannes Gaard from the Environmental Ministry of Denmark discussed the new Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and other groups of micropollutants that also pose a threat to the quality of BSR waters.

New rules for more efficient wastewater treatment

All activities within the AdvIQwater project are based on transnational cooperation of academic, commercial, and public stakeholders from Poland, Denmark, Estonia and Germany to drive future innovation.

In 2024, we explored and compared various technologies for removing micropollutants, including activated sludge processing, biofilters (porous medium columns, biofilms (moving-bed biofilm reactors), granular activated carbon filtration, persulfate-based advanced oxidation, ozonation and photocatalysis, raising awareness of the need to develop new solutions to this complex problem.

Meanwhile, the new Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive was introduced, mandating the removal of micropollutants from wastewater.

Kai Bester, Aarchus University: The new Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive requires the implementation of quaternary (fourth-stage) treatment processes in urban wastewater treatment plants (UWWTPs) to achieve a minimum 80% removal efficiency of selected micropollutants. Many of these micropollutants are pharmaceutical compounds known for their persistence in the environment and potential ecotoxicological impacts. This created a momentum for research and development technologies to select the most promising strategy for quaternary treatment. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and water facilities expect ready-to-use solutions that are well-documented and thoroughly tested. The time is just right to work on advanced technologies for micropollutants removal in our region.

AdvIQwater project develops solutions to micropollutants removal from wastewater

Anna Zielińska-Jurek: Achieving sustainable wastewater management requires a balance between technological solutions, environmental protection, and economic feasibility.

Considering the technological and economic aspects, we proposed an Advanced Oxidation Process based on the in-situ generation of the strongest oxidants, hydroxyl radicals and sulfate radicals for water and wastewater treatment from pharmaceutical residues.

Several advanced catalytic and photocatalytic systems were investigated to effectively and synergistically remove pharmaceutical contaminants from wastewater. These innovations provide a resourceful and environmentally friendly approach to wastewater treatment, harnessing waste materials and advanced oxidants to deliver practical, scalable, and high-performance solutions that can significantly improve water quality.

Ivar Zekker, Tartu University: At the same time we proposed anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) MBBR, which is energy-efficient method for nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater, offering the potential to bring wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) closer to a neutral energy balance. Biofilms, structured microbial communities ranging from 10 to 1,000 µm thick, offer enhanced pollutant degradation capabilities due to their ability to host slow-growing specialists and support collaborative enzyme production. The presence of a diverse microbial community suggests the potential for synergistic interactions that facilitate these processes.

Kai Bester: Biofilms can simultaneously carry out aerobic processes on their surface and denitrification in deeper layers. These properties make biofilm-based systems, such as Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors (MBBRs), promising for removing micropollutants, including pharmaceuticals, potentially offering more environmentally friendly alternatives to ozonation and activated carbon treatment.

The integration of anammox with partial nitrification or partial denitrification pathways, particularly utilizing biofilm and floc systems, has facilitated effective nitrogen removal. This approach also addresses challenges associated with microbial activity, substrate diffusion, and the inhibition caused by pharmaceuticals. We demonstrated the reliability of moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) systems, especially under anammox conditions, for effectively reducing pharmaceutical contaminants and removing nitrogen, even when faced with elevated levels of these pollutants.

The most promising solution is a combination of the MBBR process followed by photodegradation.

Anna Zielińska-Jurek: The integration of renewable energy sources, such as solar and biomass, into treatment facilities improves efficiency and reduces emissions. In this regard, the most suitable solution involves a combination of biodegradation and the advanced oxidation process, as light and oxygen are two of the most important abiotic factors involved in the environmental fate of micropollutants in aquatic systems.

The sequence of contaminant removal in the MBBR system, combined with fungal treatment and subsequent photodegradation of trace amounts of micropollutants, revealed the highest efficiency. More than 90% of the micropollutants were degraded in the combined process, meeting the requirements of the new EU Directive 2024/3019.

In this regard, our project and its outcome represent a significant step forward in advancing water purification technology, aimed at addressing the removal of micropollutants.

Cooperation possibilities open for you.

We are maintaining ongoing discussions and consultations with municipalities in the region.

The project provides an opportunity to build the capacity of stakeholders with a unique prospect to discuss how colleagues in neighbouring countries actually and practically approach WWTP development within the new network.

Ivar Zekker: We collaborate with Türi Water, Tartu Water Companies, and HUMANA to explore the potential of anaerobic ammonium-oxidising (anammox) bacteria within moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs). Gdańsk Waterworks contributed to the development of solutions and testing technology of advanced oxidation processes aimed at addressing the environmental threat posed by pharmaceutically active compounds in aquatic ecosystems.

REGAIN provided material from spent lithium-ion batteries, which acted as effective catalysts for the degradation of sulfamethoxazole, a commonly used antibiotic not susceptible to biodegradation. S. Cytawa from SWARZEWO Waterworks discussed the developed joint solution consisting of biodegradation and photodegradation processes. Aarhus Vand and Hillerød utility are close in their decision-making process towards full-scale implementation of the advanced oxidation process combined with filtration on granular activated carbon.

This network holds the promise of enhancing water quality and establishing a new standard in utility management.

We remain open to exploring strategic collaboration opportunities that enhance our goals and drive success by improving the quality of BSR waters. If you are interested in joining us, please contact the project manager: annjurek@pg.edu.pl

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