Proposal for a screening test to evaluate the fate of organic micropollutants in activated sludge.

The concentrations of organic micropollutants are usually low in wastewaters (order of magnitude of mg L(-1)). However, their emission standards, especially in the case of carcinogenic and bioaccumulating substances, are often much lower (order of magnitude of microg L(-1)). Since these substances, in some cases, can be adsorbable or volatile, their removal via volatilization, biodegradation or sludge adsorption in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) becomes a significant feature to include in the usual design process, in order to verify the emission standards in gas and sludge too. In this study a simple screening batch test for the evaluation of the fate of organic micropollutants in water, air and sludge is presented. The test is set up by means of simple laboratory instruments and simulates an activated sludge tank process. In this study the results obtained for four substances with different chemical properties (i.e. toluene, benz(a)anthracene, phenol and benzene) are presented. The screening test proposed can be a useful tool to assess in about one month the fate of organic micropollutants in an activated sludge tank of a WWTP. Moreover, the test can constitute a useful support in the use of mathematical models, since it allows the verification of model results and the calibration of the reactions involved in the removal process.

Diffuse source apportionment of the Po river eutrophying load to the Adriatic sea: assessment of Lombardy contribution to Po river nutrient load apportionment by means of an integrated modelling approach.

The source apportionment of the annual nutrient load carried by the Po river to the Adriatic sea has been studied. An integrated modelling approach was applied to the Lombardy plain area, which covers about 34% of the Po river watershed area and accounts for about 50% of the point sources' loads carried by the river. To extract all the information available from direct instream measurements, two different modelling tools were alternatively used. The source apportionment was investigated considering both dry and wet weather scenarios. In order to quantify the apportionment in dry-weather conditions, the Lombardy portion of the Po river basin was modelled by using the US-EPA QUAL2E model. Such a simulation allowed to assess a significant contribution (about 50% of the total dry-weather load) of a not rain-driven diffuse pollution component (i.e. groundwater, springs, lake emissaries). Moreover, to estimate the rain-driven surface runoff contribution to the instream total load, the Lombardy plain area was also modelled by means of the US-DA SWAT model. SWAT results indicate a runoff contribution to the Po river instream total load of about 10000 t N yr(-1) and 1300 t P yr(-1) (i.e. approximately the 10-20% of the total annual Lombardy nutrient load). At the event scale (i.e. the single rainstorm event) the runoff contribution may rise up to 30-80% of the total instream load. Finally, the total annual nitrogen load at the Po basin closure was estimated for the period 1985-2001. Out of a total annual load of 140000 t N yr(-1), Lombardy accounts for 43% (point plus diffuse sources). The rain-driven diffuse sources constitute the 20% of the overall total load, the point sources account for 40%, whereas the remaining 40% is mainly constituted by "dry-weather diffuse sources" (i.e. groundwater, springs, lake emissaries).