Research on the operating behaviour and resource consumption of the activated carbon stage of the Dülmen wastewater treatment plant with special consideration of the achievable effects on the upstream water body

Funded by the Ministerium für Klimaschutz, Umwelt, Landwirtschaft, Natur- und Verbraucherschutz des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (LANUV)
Duration: August 2016 – Dezember 2019

The aim of the project is to investigate the ecotoxicological effects of powdered activated carbon (PAC) from wastewater treatment plants on aquatic organisms. In laboratory experiments with Daphnia, Lumbriculus and Corbicula test systems possible negative effects of PAC loaded with micropollutants are investigated.

For the extension of municipal sewage treatment plants with a powdered activated carbon stage, the need for a sand filter is seen as a secondary treatment stage. Thus, powdered carbon dosing appears to be a favourable option for upgrading municipal wastewater treatment plants with already installed sand filtration in order to increase the removal capacity of municipal wastewater treatment plants for trace substances. The cost-benefit relations of the use of powdered carbon adsorption as well as the corresponding operational handling are to be investigated at the large-scale activated carbon stage at the wastewater treatment plant in Dülmen (WTP Dülmen).

The main objective of the study is to evaluate the influence of minimal doses of powdered carbon (similar to the effluent concentration of the pre-sedimentation with downstream powdered carbon dosing) on the effluent quality and operational stability with special consideration of anthropogenic trace substances. The WTP Dülmen has an exemplary character, which makes a generally valid transfer of the results to municipal wastewater treatment plants with existing flocculation filtration seem possible.

This project aims to ensure the scientific monitoring and evaluation of the extension of the treatment plant. A particular focus of the investigations is on the effects on water quality with regard to the achievement of the objectives of the Water Framework Directive and preventive water protection. To this end, ecotoxicological investigations will be carried out in the water body before, during and after the implementation of the individual measures (sensitisation of the population, use of activated carbon).

First publications from the project:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141104

Contact: Prof. Dr. Bernd Sures, Marion Woerman