Processes that improve the conventional wastewater treatment

The concern by water quality and the consequences that the presence of pollutants can have on the aquatic environment and the applications that the man can give to the water is growing. Thanks to the new analytical technologies is possible detect the presence of contaminants emerging between which include drugs, metals, compounds organic, nano-materials…

These contaminants reach the aquatic environment through wastewater discharges given that conventional sewage treatment stations cannot be the complete elimination of them. Agriculture and livestock are also sources of contamination diffuse of pesticides and antibiotics.

REMTAVARES Consortium (Madrid advanced wastewater treatment network) focuses his research on the development of new technologies for removing pollutants in wastewater by micro-filtration or adsorption processes, biological processes as membrane bioreactors, advanced oxidation processes…

REMTAVARES, in collaboration with TRAGUANET, has organized the Workshop "Leading edge technologies for the removal of emerging pollutants", in which this issue is addressed and discussed the risks that environmental has the presence of drugs and microplastics in aquatic and marine environments as well as effects on aquatic species. Advances in the technology of wastewater treatment by grouping the papers in five thematic areas are also shown:

• Advanced oxidation processes for the removal of emerging pharmaceutical pollutants
• Biodegradation of emerging pharmaceutical pollutants and disinfection
• Physical separation processes for removal of emerging pharmaceutical pollutants
• Combination of treatments and techno-economical assessments
• Evaluation of ecotoxicity of emerging pollutants

Marco Vighi, IMDEA Water expert, has presented the Conference "Ecological risk of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment". Marco addresses the area of Ecotoxicology, which deals with the study of the interaction between contaminants and ecosystems.

By IMDEA water have also participated in the Workshop the researchers Amaia Ortiz de Lejarazu of the Group of Membrane Technology and Andrea Castaño of the Group of Groundwater Ecology with papers "Comparative study of commercial, recycled and modified nanofiltration and ultrafiltration membranes for removal of pharmaceutical compounds" and "Human pharmaceutical compounds: the side effects of medication on aquatic species" respectively.