Biochar; Cellulose; Circular economy; Constructed wetlands; Micropollutants; Charcoal; biochar; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Wastewater; Germany; Wetlands; Charcoal/chemistry; Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis; Cellulose/chemistry; Waste Disposal, Fluid/methods; Wastewater/chemistry; Admixture; Constructed wetland; Micropollutant removals; Municipal wastewaters; Post treatment; Waste water treatment plants; Wastewater effluents; Waste Disposal, Fluid; Environmental Engineering; Environmental Chemistry; Waste Management and Disposal; Pollution
Abstract :
[en] This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of biochar produced by pyrolysis from recovered wastewater cellulose and activated biologically as an admixture in Constructed Wetlands (CWs) when applied as a post-treatment step to remove micropollutants (MPs) from municipal wastewater effluent. Two planted vertical flow mesocosm CWs with cellulose-based admixtures of different origins (plant residue and recovered toilet paper) were fed with a municipal wastewater effluent representative for rural catchments. The results showed an average MPs elimination of 89.1 % for the activated biochar produced from recovered cellulose when 15 relevant compounds are considered and a reduction of the risk from compounds cocktail below the maximum acceptable level having diclofenac, carbamazepine, PFOS, ciprofloxacin and clarithromycin as main risk drivers (Risk Quotient > 1). The implementation of a circular approach to reduce MPs was finally conducted for the Blies catchment (Saarland region in Germany) characterized by low population density and small, sensitive water bodies. This approach demonstrates the feasibility of combining cellulose recovery with a fine sieve in large wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and providing biochar produced from recovered cellulose as an admixture to small WWTP where CW is an affordable solution for MP mitigation.
Disciplines :
Civil engineering
Author, co-author :
VENDITTI, Silvia ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) > Department of Engineering (DoE)
SALMERON GARCIA, Irene ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine > Department of Engineering > Team Joachim HANSEN
NUNEZ TAFALLA, Paula ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) > Department of Engineering (DoE)
Hobus, Inka; Wupperverbandsgesellschaft für integrale Wasserwirtschaft mbH, Untere Lichtenplatzer Straße 100, D-42289 Wuppertal, Germany
Kolisch, Gerd; Wupperverbandsgesellschaft für integrale Wasserwirtschaft mbH, Untere Lichtenplatzer Straße 100, D-42289 Wuppertal, Germany
HANSEN, Joachim ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) > Department of Engineering (DoE)
External co-authors :
yes
Language :
English
Title :
Biochar from recovered cellulose as new admixture in constructed wetlands for micropollutant removal: A circular approach.
The presented outcomes are part of the North-West European Interreg project VB WOW (Wider business Opportunities for raw materials from Wastewater \u2013 NWE project number 619). The authors would like to acknowledge the support from all the partners involved in the project and the Syndicat Intercommunal de d\u00E9pollution des eaux r\u00E9siduaires de l'Ouest (SIDERO) which kindly provided the wastewater.
Administration de Gestion de l’’eau, 9. Recommandations regardant la mise en œuvre d'une quatrième étape épuratoire sur les stations d’épuration municipales. 2020.
Aslam, S., Jing, Y., Nowak, K.M., Fate of glyphosate and its degradation products AMPA, glycine and sarcosine in an agricultural soil: implications for environmental risk assessment. J. Hazard. Mater., 447, 2023, 130847, 10.1016/J.JHAZMAT.2023.130847.
Bahlmann, A., Brack, W., Schneider, R.J., Krauss, M., Carbamazepine and its metabolites in wastewater: analytical pitfalls and occurrence in Germany and Portugal. Water Res., 57, 2014, 10.1016/j.watres.2014.03.022.
Bayer, P., Heuer, E., Karl, U., Finkel, M., Economical and ecological comparison of granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorber refill strategies. Water Res., 39(9), 2005, 10.1016/j.watres.2005.02.005.
Brunhoferova, H., Venditti, S., Hansen, J., Characterization of unconventional sand-based substrates for adsorption of micropollutants in nature-based systems. J. Environ. Manage., 318, 2022, 115593, 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022. 115593.
Brunsch, A.F., ter Laak, T.L., Christoffels, E., Rijnaarts, H.H.M., Langenhoff, A.A.M., Retention soil filter as post-treatment step to remove micropollutants from sewage treatment plant effluent. Sci. Total Environ., 637–638, 2018, 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.063.
Deutsche Vereinigung für Wasserwirtschaft, Design of single-stage activated sludge plants. A, 2016, 131.
EC, Methodology for the Implementation of a Circular Economy at the Local and Regional Scale. 2022.
Egle, L., Rechberger, H., Krampe, J., Zessner, M., Phosphorus recovery from municipal wastewater: an integrated comparative technological, environmental and economic assessment of P recovery technologies. Sci. Total Environ., 571, 2016, 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.07.019.
EMEA, Guideline on the environmental risk assessment of medicinal products for human use. European Medicines Agency, 44(November), 2006.
European Commission, Closing the Loop - An EU action plan for the Circular Economy - (ANNEX 1). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Europena Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. 2015.
European Council, Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council Concerning Urban Wastewater Treatment (Recast). 2023.
Falås, P., Wick, A., Castronovo, S., Habermacher, J., Ternes, T.A., Joss, A., Tracing the limits of organic micropollutant removal in biological wastewater treatment. Water Res., 95, 2016, 10.1016/j.watres.2016.03.009.
Frkova, Z., Venditti, S., Herr, P., Hansen, J., Assessment of the production of biodiesel from urban wastewater-derived lipids. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol. 162, 2020, 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105044.
Gallé, T., Koehler, C., Plattes, M., Pittois, D., Bayerle, M., Carafa, R., Christen, A., Hansen, J., Large-scale determination of micropollutant elimination from municipal wastewater by passive sampling gives new insights in governing parameters and degradation patterns. Water Res., 160, 2019, 10.1016/j.watres. 2019.05.009.
Geissdoerfer, Martin, Savaget, Paulo, Bocken, Nancy M.P., Hultink, Erik Jan, The circular economy e a new sustainability paradigm?. J. Clean. Prod., 143(0), 2017.
Gosset, A., Wiest, L., Fildier, A., Libert, C., Giroud, B., Hammada, M., Hervé, M., Sibeud, E., Vulliet, E., Polomé, P., Perrodin, Y., Ecotoxicological risk assessment of contaminants of emerging concern identified by “suspect screening” from urban wastewater treatment plant effluents at a territorial scale. Sci. Total Environ., 778, 2021, 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146275.
Khan, M.N., Lacroix, M., Wessels, C., Van Dael, M., Converting wastewater cellulose to valuable products: a techno-economic assessment. J. Clean. Prod., 365, 2022, 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132812.
Khan, H.I.U.H., Mehta, N., Zhang, X., Rousseau, D.P.L., Ronsse, F., Assessment of the properties of aging biochar used as a substrate in constructed wetlands. Chemosphere, 334, 2023, 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138999.
Lei, Y., Rijnaarts, H., Langenhoff, A., Mesocosm constructed wetlands to remove micropollutants from wastewater treatment plant effluent: effect of matrices and pre-treatments. Chemosphere, 305, 2022, 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135306.
Li, S., Wu, Z., Wu, Z., Liu, G., Enhancing fiber recovery from wastewater may require toilet paper redesign. J. Clean. Prod., 261, 2020, 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121138.
Liu, H., Yin, H., Yu, X., Zhu, M., Dang, Z., Amino-functionalized MIL-88B as heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalysts for enhancing tris-(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP) degradation: dual excitation pathways accelerate the conversion of [tbnd]FeIII to [tbnd]FeII under visible light irradiation. J. Hazard. Mater., 425, 2022, 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127782.
Marcelino, G.R., de Carvalho, K.Q., de Lima, M.X., Passig, F.H., Belini, A.D., Bernardelli, J.K.B., Nagalli, A., Construction waste as substrate in vertical subsuperficial constructed wetlands treating organic matter, ibuprofenhene, acetaminophen and ethinylestradiol from low-strength synthetic wastewater. Sci. Total Environ., 728, 2020, 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138771.
Muniz Sacco, F.C., Frkova, Z., Venditti, S., Pastore, C., Guignard, C., Hansen, J., Operation of a pilot-scale lipid accumulation technology employing parameters to select Microthrix parvicella for biodiesel production from wastewater. Bioresour. Technol., 369, 2023, 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128498.
Nivala, J., Neale, P.A., Haasis, T., Kahl, S., König, M., Müller, R.A., Reemtsma, T., Schlichting, R., Escher, B.I., Application of cell-based bioassays to evaluate treatment efficacy of conventional and intensified treatment wetlands. Environ. Sci. Water Res. Technol., 4(2), 2018, 10.1039/c (7ew00341b).
Pucher, B., Langergraber, G., Influence of design parameters on the treatment performance of VF wetlands – a simulation study. Water Sci. Technol., 80(2), 2019, 10.2166/wst.2019.268.
Ruiken, C.J., Breuer, G., Klaversma, E., Santiago, T., van Loosdrecht, M.C.M., Sieving wastewater - cellulose recovery, economic and energy evaluation. Water Res., 47(1), 2013, 10.1016/j.watres.2012.08.023.
Salmeron, G.I., Nunez, T.P., Venditti, S., Hansen, J., Report on the characteri- zation of biochar obtained from recovered cellulose and evaluation of its potential for water purification. https://vb.nweurope.eu/media/21298/report_d31_final_lab-scale-experiments-with-non-activated-and-activated-biochar.pdf, 2023.
Schmitt, T.G., H., K., B., V., G., K., Y., T., Material flow modelling of the total emissions of trace substances in the Blies catchment area and transfer of the results to Saarland. Studie Im Auftrag Des Entsorgungsverband Saar (EVS)., 2019.
Schöggl, J.P., Stumpf, L., Baumgartner, R.J., The narrative of sustainability and circular economy - a longitudinal review of two decades of research. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol. 163, 2020, 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105073.
Spilsbury, F., Kisielius, V., Bester, K., Backhaus, T., Ecotoxicological mixture risk assessment of 35 pharmaceuticals in wastewater effluents following post-treatment with ozone and/or granulated activated carbon. Sci. Total Environ., 906, 2024, 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167440.
Stamatis, N.K., Konstantinou, I.K., Occurrence and removal of emerging pharmaceutical, personal care compounds and caffeine tracer in municipal sewage treatment plant in Western Greece. J. Environ. Sci. Health-Part B Pesticides Food Contam. Agric. Wastes, 48(9), 2013, 10.1080/03601234.2013.781359.
Ternes, T.A., Occurrence of drugs in German sewage treatment plants and rivers. Water Res., 32(11), 1998, 10.1016/S0043-1354(98)00099-2.
Tondera, K., Ruppelt, J.P., Pinnekamp, J., Kistemann, T., Schreiber, C., Reduction of micropollutants and bacteria in a constructed wetland for combined sewer overflow treatment after 7 and 10 years of operation. Sci. Total Environ., 651, 2019, 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.174.
United Nations Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A/RES/70/1, 16301 United Nations, 2015.
Venditti, S., Brunhoferova, H., Hansen, J., Behaviour of 27 selected emerging contaminants in vertical flow constructed wetlands as post-treatment for municipal wastewater. Sci. Total Environ., 819, 2022, 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.153234.
Venditti, S., Kiesch, A., Brunhoferova, H., Schlienz, M., Knerr, H., Dittmer, U., Hansen, J., Assessing the impact of micropollutant mitigation measures using vertical flow constructed wetlands for municipal wastewater catchments in the greater region: a reference case for rural areas. Water Sci. Technol., 86(1), 2022, 10.2166/wst.2022.191.
Venditti, S., Kiesch, A., Hansen, J., Fate of glyphosate and its metabolite AminoMethylPhosponic acid (AMPA) from point source through wastewater sludge and advanced treatment. Chemosphere, 340, 2023, 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139843.
Vilén, A., Laurell, P., Vahala, R., Comparative life cycle assessment of activated carbon production from various raw materials. J. Environ. Manag., 324, 2022, 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116356.
Zhang, C., Chao, L., Zhang, Z., Zhang, L., Li, Q., Fan, H., Zhang, S., Liu, Q., Qiao, Y., Tian, Y., Wang, Y., Hu, X., Pyrolysis of cellulose: evolution of functionalities and structure of bio-char versus temperature. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., 135, 2021, 10.1016/j.rser.2020.110416.