LAUSR

Abstract Emerging organic contaminants (EOCs), consisting of pharmaceuticals, industrial/household additives, and their transformation products, have been widely detected in surface water bodies and may lead to potential ecological risks. Installing a tertiary treatment step in sewage treatment plants (STP) is an effective method to control their contamination. In this study, a pilot-scale biofilter was set up with natural manganese oxides as carrier materials at a local STP to treat the real secondary effluent. This innovative and simple reactor was on-site operated for approximately 500 days. Some EOCs were effectively removed after adaptation, including 10,11-dihydro-10,11-dihydroxycarbamazepine (98%), gabapentin (97%), tramadol (93%), carbamazepine (91%), benzotriazole (91%), sulfamethoxazole (88%), erythromycin (86%). By contrast, the removal of others can be obtained without adaptation, including diclofenac (91%), carboxy-acyclovir (91%), iomeprol (89%), 1-hydroxybenzotriazol (87%), 4′-hydroxydiclofenac (86%), acyclovir (73%), tolyltriazole (70%). Overall, 80% of the total mass of 15 detected EOCs was eliminated from the secondary effluent. In addition, 53% of UV 254 was removed from wastewater, indicating the aromatic content was damaged to a certain extent.