Innovative Treatment Technologies for Oxidation of EDCs and Disinfection to Title 22 Standards

This project is an investigation of current and emerging tertiary and advanced treatment technologies for reclaimed water disinfection and chemical constituent destruction. The primary goal of the research was to identify and determine the relative low cost technology (or technologies) that are capable of the simultaneous destruction of both pathogens and chemical constituents. By using a rigorous selection process criteria, candidate treatment technologies were selected and tested on the bench scale at Duke University and at four pilot sites in Florida, North Carolina, and California. The initial process involved the review of 22 established and emerging wastewater treatment technologies, including emerging technologies such as electron beam radiation, ultrasound, and electro-dialysis reversal. After detailed review and a kick-off workshop with the Foundation's Project Advisory Committee and project stakeholders, the research team selected several market-ready technologies for detailed bench-scale evaluations, including:UV (low pressure (LPUV) and medium pressure (MPUV)),Ozone (O3),Chlorine (free and preformed monochloramines),Peracetic acid (PAA),Advanced oxidation processes (AOP, including LPUV/H2O2, LPUV/PAA, O3/H2O2), andUltrafiltration (UF).The performance of these technologies was evaluated using bench-scale microbial inactivation tests on important indicator, surrogate, and pathogenic organisms (including indigenous total and fecal coliforms, indigenous aerobic spore-forming bacteria, spiked MS2 bacteriophage, reovirus, coxsackievirus, and adenovirus). Removal and transformation of a suite of spiked chemical constituents, including several potential endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP) which were evaluated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Reduction in estrogenic activity following treatment was also measured using the yeast estrogen screen (YES) bioassay (often referred to as estradiol equivalency (EEQ)).