Removal of pharmaceuticals from municipal wastewater using a powdered activated carbon‐supplemented moving bed membrane bioreactor

Abstract BACKGROUND The new European Union Wastewater Directive 2024/3019 requires upgrading sewage treatment plants to achieve 80% removal of micropollutants. This study aimed to compare different Powdered Activated Carbon dosing strategies within a hybrid Moving Bed‐Membrane Bioreactor (PAC‐MB‐MBR) system, to evaluate its performance and to study the removal of five pharmaceuticals during wastewater treatment. RESULTS Initial batch experiments in tap water demonstrated that carbamazepine (CBZ), valsartan (VAL), and diclofenac (DCF) achieved 90% removal for all tested PAC doses, while experiments with different wastewater matrices showed that adsorption efficiency decreased in the presence of dissolved organic matter. Continuous‐flow experiments in the absence of PAC (Phase A), with a single dose of PAC at 1 g L −1 (Phase B), and a daily dose of PAC at 0.03 g L −1 (Phase C) demonstrated stable COD (>93%) and NH 4 + ‐N (>98%) removal. In the absence of PAC, CBZ and DCF were removed by 16% and 35%, respectively, while after PAC addition, the average removal of all pharmaceuticals exceeded 80%. Experiments with crossflow membrane filtration units showed that combining nanofiltration with PAC‐MB‐MBR achieved total removal exceeding 98% for all target pharmaceuticals. CONCLUSION COD and NH 4 + ‐N were effectively removed at all experimental conditions. The addition of PAC reduced extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and soluble microbial products (SMP) concentrations and enhanced the removal of CBZ and DCF, while achieving sufficient removal efficiencies for all target pharmaceuticals. The daily addition of PAC appeared superior to a single dose. Nanofiltration experiments showed significant removal of four out of five target pharmaceuticals. © 2026 The Author(s). Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).