15.1 Biotechnologies for Water Treatment
Under certain circumstances, the performance limits of current biological (waste)
water treatment technologies are exceeded. With regard to organic chemicals polluting waters and the accompanying conditions determining the activity and survival
of degrader organisms, two major groups of scenarios are of particular importance as
they necessitate development and implementation of more efficient, advanced biological treatment technologies.
One of these groups of scenarios relates to nowadays widely manifested concerns
regarding the occurrence of a multitude of overwhelmingly nonregulated, primarily
synthetic organic chemicals with quite diverse structures, origins, and uses, which
are usually referred to as emerging contaminants or micropollutants. These
chemicals range from quite hydrophobic to very hydrophilic (polar and ionic)
structures, and arise from, e.g., urban, industrial, and agricultural activities. Accordingly, micropollutants are emitted from both point and nonpoint sources, and are
found in, e.g., pharmaceutical production plants, daily household products, landfills,
municipal sewage, sewage sludge, hospital wastewater, and the natural aquatic
environment (Ahmed et al. 2017; Hochstrat et al. 2015; Solé and Schlosser 2015).
Micropollutants and their metabolites can enter the water cycle because of frequently
insufficient degradation and retention in conventional wastewater treatment plants
(WWTPs), which were not originally designed for their removal (Ahmed et al. 2017;
Cecconet et al. 2017; Hochstrat et al. 2015; Kümmerer 2011; Lapworth et al. 2012;
Silva et al. 2012). Besides surface and groundwater, they have been occasionally
detected even in drinking water (Kümmerer 2009; Kümmerer 2011; Lapworth et al.
2012). Environmentally relevant concentrations of micropollutants and also their
transformation products may pose considerable ecological and human health risks
due to, e.g., interferences with the endocrine system of vertebrates; their deleterious
effects on growth, reproduction, and development in wildlife; the development of
hazardous microbial resistance mechanisms; and accumulation in soil, plants, and
animals (Ahmed et al. 2017; Hochstrat et al. 2015; Table 15.1).
There is neither a general definition nor a complete list of micropollutants. Their
most common characteristic is a very low concentration in the aquatic environment
in the ng/L to the μg/L range (Ahmed et al. 2017; Kümmerer 2011; Murray et al.
2010). Recent classifications based on the respective field of application list industrial chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs),
with pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) being a subcategory of PPCPs
(Cecconet et al. 2017; Murray et al. 2010). PhACs include, e.g., analgesics, lipid
regulators, antibiotics, diuretics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, stimulant
drugs, antiseptics, beta blockers, and antimicrobials, whereas cosmetics, sunscreen
agents, food supplements, and fragrances belong to personal care products (PCPs)
(Ahmed et al. 2017). Following the aforementioned classification approach, frequently detected micropollutants such as bisphenol A (BPA) and nonylphenol
(NP) represent industrial chemicals, whereas carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac
(DF), 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), sulfamethoxazol (SMX), and triclosan (TCS) are
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D. Schlosser
Under certain circumstances, the performance limits of current biological (waste)
water treatment technologies are exceeded. With regard to organic chemicals polluting waters and the accompanying conditions determining the activity and survival
of degrader organisms, two major groups of scenarios are of particular importance as
they necessitate development and implementation of more efficient, advanced biological treatment technologies.
One of these groups of scenarios relates to nowadays widely manifested concerns
regarding the occurrence of a multitude of overwhelmingly nonregulated, primarily
synthetic organic chemicals with quite diverse structures, origins, and uses, which
are usually referred to as emerging contaminants or micropollutants. These
chemicals range from quite hydrophobic to very hydrophilic (polar and ionic)
structures, and arise from, e.g., urban, industrial, and agricultural activities. Accordingly, micropollutants are emitted from both point and nonpoint sources, and are
found in, e.g., pharmaceutical production plants, daily household products, landfills,
municipal sewage, sewage sludge, hospital wastewater, and the natural aquatic
environment (Ahmed et al. 2017; Hochstrat et al. 2015; Solé and Schlosser 2015).
Micropollutants and their metabolites can enter the water cycle because of frequently
insufficient degradation and retention in conventional wastewater treatment plants
(WWTPs), which were not originally designed for their removal (Ahmed et al. 2017;
Cecconet et al. 2017; Hochstrat et al. 2015; Kümmerer 2011; Lapworth et al. 2012;
Silva et al. 2012). Besides surface and groundwater, they have been occasionally
detected even in drinking water (Kümmerer 2009; Kümmerer 2011; Lapworth et al.
2012). Environmentally relevant concentrations of micropollutants and also their
transformation products may pose considerable ecological and human health risks
due to, e.g., interferences with the endocrine system of vertebrates; their deleterious
effects on growth, reproduction, and development in wildlife; the development of
hazardous microbial resistance mechanisms; and accumulation in soil, plants, and
animals (Ahmed et al. 2017; Hochstrat et al. 2015; Table 15.1).
There is neither a general definition nor a complete list of micropollutants. Their
most common characteristic is a very low concentration in the aquatic environment
in the ng/L to the μg/L range (Ahmed et al. 2017; Kümmerer 2011; Murray et al.
2010). Recent classifications based on the respective field of application list industrial chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs),
with pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) being a subcategory of PPCPs
(Cecconet et al. 2017; Murray et al. 2010). PhACs include, e.g., analgesics, lipid
regulators, antibiotics, diuretics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, stimulant
drugs, antiseptics, beta blockers, and antimicrobials, whereas cosmetics, sunscreen
agents, food supplements, and fragrances belong to personal care products (PCPs)
(Ahmed et al. 2017). Following the aforementioned classification approach, frequently detected micropollutants such as bisphenol A (BPA) and nonylphenol
(NP) represent industrial chemicals, whereas carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac
(DF), 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), sulfamethoxazol (SMX), and triclosan (TCS) are
336
D. Schlosser