More than 4000 pharmaceutical compounds and about 350 pesticides and biocides are commercially available in Switzerland. These micropollutants are highly persistent, mobile and are poorly removed by conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Hence, effluents of WWTPs act as one of the main sources of release of pharmaceuticals into our aquatic environment. To eliminate these substances from effluents of WWTP advanced wastewater treatments are necessary. In March 2014 the Swiss government adapted the Water Protection Act mandating WWTPs to implement new advanced treatments that would eliminate at least 80% of 12 selected micropollutants. Powdered activated carbon and ozonation were chosen as the two proposed solutions. However, both treatments offer incomplete (selective) removal of all micropollutants, have high operational cost (e.g., constant replacement and incineration of PAC after use) and even form toxic by-products e.g., in the case of ozonation.
In this pilot, Oxyle’s technology was installed on our Swiss WWTP customer to help them comply with the new Swiss Water Act and test our removal efficiency against the mandated 12 micropollutants. In addition to these compounds, five new micropollutants that are found frequently in the effluent of this WWTP were also added to the study to test the non-selectivity of our treatment. Another important aim of this case study was to ensure that the toxic by-product, bromate, was not formed during our oxidation treatment.
Our solution
Oxyle has developed a game-changing wastewater treatment technology for enhanced degradation of a wide variety of highly persistent, mobile, and toxic organic pollutants such as pesticides, PFAS, pharmaceuticals, hormones, industrial chemicals, textile pigments and dyes etc. Our modular plug-and-play reactors are integrated with Oxyle’s novel catalyst and provide decentralized treatments for industrial and municipal effluents, and remediation projects for treatment of contaminated water (groundwater or from soil washing).
Oxyle’s unique oxidation technology relies on the activation of our nanoporous catalyst using highly scalable and cost-effective energy sources such as bubbling, vibrations, flow, stress etc. Upon activation, our catalyst produces large doses of highly reactive and oxidative radicals. This process leads to the degradation and mineralization of organic pollutants, leaving behind safe to discharge water. In addition, our inline sensors and proprietary control mechanisms provide continuous feedback, allowing us to remotely operate and optimize our treatment process to ensure our customers continuously benefit from the highest standards of discharge limits.
Our advantages
– Treatment reactors that are easy to customize and integrate to suit our customer needs
– Efficient nanocatalyst activated by clean & scalable energy sources at cost-effective rates
– Self-cleaning catalyst endowed with a long cleaning lifespan.
– Fully recyclable catalyst after long-term wear & tear ensures minimal sustainability impact over the entire life cycle of the material.
– Complete and non-selective removal of all micropollutants, in a non-selective manner.
– No formation of toxic by-products as bromate after treatment.
– Real-time monitoring and control of water treatment to guarantee high quality effluents
– Facile combination downstream of conventional treatments such as biological or filtration treatments.
– Treatment reactors that are easy to customize and integrate to suit our customer needs
– Efficient nanocatalyst activated by clean & scalable energy sources at cost-effective rates
– Self-cleaning catalyst endowed with a long cleaning lifespan.
– Fully recyclable catalyst after long-term wear & tear ensures minimal sustainability impact over the entire life cycle of the material.
– Complete and non-selective removal of all micropollutants, in a non-selective manner.
– No formation of toxic by-products as bromate after treatment.
– Real-time monitoring and control of water treatment to guarantee high quality effluents
– Facile combination downstream of conventional treatments such as biological or filtration treatments.
Results
In this case study, we targeted several pesticides in the industrial wastewater of our agrochemical customer. The treatment process was conducted at room temperature with our catalyst and bubbling as the main energy source.
12 micropollutants mandated in Swiss Water ordinance
5 additional micropollutants that are frequently detected in our water bodies
Our plug-and-play modular reactor, integrated with our catalyst, was operated remotely on customer site at room temperature and using vibration as the energy source. Effluents from the clarifiers were directly treated by our reactors without need for any additional pre-treatment or pre-conditioning.
Table 1 shows the results from the case study, in which we easily compiled with the new Swiss regulations by removing all the 12 micropollutants with a 90% removal rate, non-selectively. In addition to the 12 compounds, we also targeted the five additional compounds with >80% removal rate. Formation of any toxic by-products during certain oxidation treatments is an important aspect to verify when implementing them. Since the wastewater of this WWTP contains about 0.09 mg Br–/L of bromide, it was important to ensure no toxic bromate was formed as a by-product (which is the case when ozone technology is used). With our hydroxyl radical based oxidation treatment, no bromate was formed (limit of quantification of 0.001 mg BrO3–/L).
In this on-site pilot, we successfully complied with the new regulations, operated our easy to use and low OPEX technology fully remotely on customer site, and demonstrated that we do not form any toxic by-products during treatment.
If you have any further questions related to your PFAS removal needs, please reach out to our team of experts at mail@oxyle.ch. We will get in touch with you shortly and co-create the best way forward that meets your current and future needs.
