ENVIRONMENTAL RISK OF MICROPOLLUTANTS: THE IMPACT OF REVISED EU DIRECTIVE ON URBAN WASTEWATER

Contamination of the environment by micropollutants has potentially adverse consequences, raising severe concerns. They were detected and identified in surface, ground, and drinking waters as well as in soils worldwide. Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents are recognized as the main source of the global increase of emerging contaminants. On 26 October 2022, the European Commission published a proposal for the revision of the Council Directive of 21 May 1991 on the treatment of municipal wastewater entitled “Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive – UWWTD”. With the ongoing amendment of EU legislation on urban wastewater treatment, stricter requirements for pollutant removal are expected, driving the need for innovative environmental technologies. Diverse pollutants in urban wastewater, including macronutrients and micropollutants, require advanced treatment technologies that integrate biological, physical, and chemical processes. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) offer several advantages for the removal of micropollutants from wastewater. They facilitate the degradation of pollutants rather than their concentration, as is the case in membrane or adsorption systems, resulting in more thorough removal from wastewater. These processes also do not generate solid residues, reducing the need for additional waste management measures. AOPs have a small footprint, making them suitable for implementation in a variety of wastewater treatment facilities.