eXeno™ New Operational Strategy of MBBR for Removal of Pharmaceuticals and Other Micropollutants from Municipal Wastewater Effluent: Results from Pilot Operation

Actions are currently taken to improve the removal of micropollutants in conventional waste water treatment. Moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) have shown higher efficiency in removal of several pharmaceuticals compared to other biological systems. In this study, a solution based on MBBR technology (eXenoTM) is presented for tertiary treatment of pharmaceuticals and other pollutants. Two years of pilot operation in Denmark and Sweden showed that removal of several micropollutants from municipal wastewater effluents (up to 80%) can be achieved with a tertiary biological solution at operational costs lower than advance chemical treatment.