AWWA ACE59972

Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCP) represent an emerging subject of concern in the drinking water industry. Surface waters influenced by wastewater effluent discharges receive increased attention when they are used as drinking water resources, due to the persistence of some of those compounds in the environment. One key component of risk identification and management is to know the fate of those compounds during drinking water treatment. With that knowledge, treatment processes could be optimized according to PPCP removal objectives. The objective of this study is to evaluate activated carbon adsorption and membranes as candidate processes for PPCP removal. The results conducted on 8 different compounds from different types show the efficiency of those polishing processes. In Europe, most surface water treatment plants have multibarrier treatment targeting at the removal of micropollutants like pesticides. They include one or several of the following processes: granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration, ozonation + GAC filtration, ultrafiltration membranes + powdered activated carbon (PAC) adsorption (Cristal® process), nanofiltration. Therefore, a PPCP contamination of tap water produced from surface water is quite unlikely. Only X-ray contrast media could be the exception, with poor adsorption to GAC and poor sensitivity to ozone. Includes 12 references, tables, figures.