Roles of Nitrifiers in the Removal of Micropollutants during Wastewater Treatment Processes

Men, Yujie

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/106925 Copy

Description

Title

Roles of Nitrifiers in the Removal of Micropollutants during Wastewater Treatment Processes

Author(s)

Men, Yujie

Issue Date

2017-04-13

Keyword(s)

• wastewater
• treatment
• pollution
• persistant organic pollutants
• pharmaceutical

Abstract

Yujie Men - Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There are emerging concerns about organic micropollutants such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals and personal care products due to their potential adverse effects on environmental ecosystems and the public health. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a major sink for down-the-drain chemicals and thus play a key role in their environmental fate. Strong associations have been observed between ammonia oxidization activities and the biotransformation of some micropollutants. However, whether there is a causal relationship between those two remains unclear. Batch scale pure culture and inhibition studies, as well as micropollutant removal investigation for a full scale enhanced nitrification step at local WWTPs have been applied to get a better understanding of roles played by ammonia oxidizers. Various types of evidence indicate essential involvement of nitrifying microorganisms in the biotransformation of certain micropollutants. For above half of the micropollutants investigated, the biotransformation of micropollutants in WWTPs achieved by heterotrophs or a combined contribution of heterotrophs and nitrifiers. The findings provide important insights into the persistency of different micropollutants during biological wastewater treatment processes.

Series/Report Name or Number

Sustainable Seminar Series

Type of Resource

• text
• still image

Language

en

Permalink

• https://youtu.be/waOF-ejJekI
• http://hdl.handle.net/2142/106925

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