Advanced Wastewater Treatment in Weißenburg

Experiences from Regular Operation

The installation of additional treatment barriers in municipal wastewater treatment plants is considered a viable option to mitigate the discharge of anthropogenic trace organic compounds (TOrCs) into receiving streams. In a Bavarian pilot project, the wastewater treatment plant of the city of Weißenburg was equipped with an advanced treatment unit in 2017. Here, advanced treatment consists of ozonation with subsequent filtration over sand or granular activated carbon.

Key aspects of this project which started in January 2020 are the examination of TOrC removal achieved by the advanced treatment unit in Weißenburg during regular operation, a process evaluation and the development of recommendations for the future operation of the unit. The plant operation is evaluated via sampling campaigns and the analysis of an extended list of indicator substances and other relevant process parameters. Besides monitoring the removal capacity of the unit, also the potential for operational and economical optimization is investigated. Here, especially the optimization of the ozonation process control via the ΔUV₂₅₄ concept is a focus of this study. To evaluate economical aspects related to the advanced treatment, costs for maintenance and operation during regular operation are analyzed. Besides, the study assesses common process options for advanced treatment for their synergistic potential (e. g. additional removal of nutrients and COD, improvement of the microbial water quality).

Based on the results from this study, recommendations for the design and operation of advanced treatment units at Bavarian wastewater treatment plants for the enhanced removal of TOrCs are to be derived.