THE CECS ARE COMING: ADVANCED OXIDATION PROCESSES FOR THE REMOVAL OF CONTAMINANTS OF 

EMERGING CONCERN

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Dr. Peter Kolosov

Best Conference – May 9, 2019

• Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs)HistoryOccurrenceEnvironment and Public HealthLegislation

• Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs)HistoryMechanismTypesBenefitsApplication

• AOPs for the Removal of CECsConventional treatmentEmerging solutionsAOPs now

• QM EnvironmentalOverviewNext Steps and a call for discussion and collaboration

OUTLINE

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WWT ACROSS CANADA

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Levels of wastewater treatment across Canada for the population served bysewers. Data were obtained from the 2011 Municipal Water Use Report(Environment Canada, 2011), based on 2009 data collected in the MunicipalWater and Wastewater Survey.

CECS. A BRIEF HISTORY OF TERM

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“Any synthetic or naturally occurring chemical or any microorganism that is not commonly monitored in the environment but has the potential to enter the environment and cause known or suspected adverse ecological and/or human health effects.” 

The United States Geological Survey (USGS)

CECs

Personal Care 

Products

Hormones

Illicit Drugs

Herbicides, Pesticides, Insecticides

Pharma

PFAS

CECS’ OCCURRENCE IN WATER

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Group CEC MarkerReported concentration in effluent wastewater

(µg/L)

PCPsTrimethoprim 0.62

Triclosan 0.32

Pharma

Diclofenac 0.36Gemfibrozil 3.25Ibuprofen 3.6Naproxen 2.3

Sulfamethoxazole 0.92Carbamazepine 0.27Venlafaxine 3.14

Hormones

Estrone 0.075

17a‐ethinylestrad 0.06

17b‐Estradiol 0.015

HerbicidesAtrazine 0.25Mecoprop 0.5

Illicit DrugsCocaine 0.02Morphine 0.04

Amphetamine 0.4

PFCs (PFAS, PFOS, etc) 0.5

Households

Manufacturing & Industrial facilities

WWTPs

Surface waters

WTPsGround water

Landfills

Farms

Biosolids & land 

application

CECS’ PATHWAYS TO OUR HOMES

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Sewer

Direct release

Leaching

Solids

Drinking water

Direct release

Contamination

Contamination

Manure

Leaching

Effluent

Direct release

CECS – ALL ABOUT THE BASSCEC Categories and examples of associated environmental and health effects

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CEC Category Source of detection Suspected health effects and environmental exposure

Personal Care Products

Ground‐waters, surface waters, sewage, wastewater treatment plant effluent, biosolids, aquatic sediments

Bacterial resistance, endocrine disruption

Hormones Surface waters,  groundwater, potable water, recycled  water, wastewater, sewage, effluent, biosolids

Endocrine disruption, negative effects on reproductive activity in animals

Illicit drugs Surface waters, recycled  water, wastewater, effluent, biosolids

Endocrine  disruption, organ damage, respiratory impairment, cancer

Herbicides, Pesticides, Insecticides

Groundwater, surface water, potable water, recycled water 

Endocrine disruption, carcinogenic, negative effects on reproductive activity in animals

Pharmaceuticals Groundwater,  surface water,  wastewater treatment plant effluent, land applied biosolids, potable water, recycled water

Development of antibiotic resistance genes, iincreased cancer rates, organ damage, chronic toxic effects

PFCs Rivers down gradient of landfills and PBDE manufacturing sites, sewage sludge, natural waterways, sediments

Endocrine  disruption, indications of increased risk for cancer

The health effects of subtle, chronic human exposure to these contaminants include the development of antibiotic resistance, endocrine disruption, and carcinogenicity (X.Bai et al., 2018).

CECS – LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONWhat is on the map?

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ADVANCED OXIDATION. 198..AOPs and OH Formation Processes

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The term “Advanced Oxidation” described as “those which involve the generation of hydroxylradicals in sufficient quantity to affect water purification.” (Glaze et al., 1987)

AOPs ∙OH formation

Physical AOPs

Plasma

Microwave

Ultrasound

Catalytic AOPs

Fenton process

Photocatalytic process

Ozone based process

Ozonation

Catalytic ozonation

Peroxone‐process

UV‐based

UV/H2O2

UV/Ozone

UV/Cl2

ADVANCED OXIDATION. 198..Oxidation Potential

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Oxidation potential ‐ the potential at which oxidation occurs at the anode in an electrochemical cell.Increase in the oxidation potential increases the tendency of reducing the bacteria and unwantedpathogens, by stealing electrons from the bacteria’s DNA, cell membranes and proteins.

Compound Oxidation Potential, V

Relative Power to Chlorine

Hydroxyl Radicals 2.80 2.05Ozone 2.07 1.52

Hydrogen Peroxide 1.77 1.30Chlorine 1.36 1.00

Through the decades chlorine, with oxidation potential of 1.36 V, was added to water because it has a high ORP 

and thus is an effective disinfectant

AOPS MECHANISMSTEPS

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I. Formation of Hydroxyl RadicalII. Reaction of these oxidants with organic compounds in the waterIII. Reaction of biodegradable intermediates with oxidants referred to as mineralization

AOPs Formation of Oxidative agents

CECs and Micropollutants

Biodegradable compounds

H2O, CO2, inorganic salts

• Tertiary and additional treatment• Odor and taste control• Disinfection• Removal of non/low biodegradable compounds• Decrease of toxicity level• TOC Removal• Removal of wide range of CECs with single or 

hybrid techniques

AOPS – SCOPE OF APPLICATION

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Easily generated

Highly Reactive

Non‐selective

Easily generated

Short lived

Powerful oxidants

AOPS – APPLICATION

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Capacity/Adequacy High‐tech equipment required.

Performance High efficiency except for few chemicals

Costs High operation costs

Self‐help Compatibility Engineers are required for the design

O&M Generally continuous supply of chemicals (ozone, H2O2…) required

Reliability Reliable if operating conditions are scaled taking into account wastewater content

Main strength Destroys almost all organics without pollution transfer to another phase

Main weakness Operation costs

• By‐product precursors• Range and characteristics of contaminants• Presence of scavenging compounds• Cost and operation time

AOPS – TO CONSIDER

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CEC’S – WHY CAN’T BE REMOVED Why CECs cannot be removed with the conventional wastewater treatment techniques?

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• Broad range of synergistic technologies, that combines various AOPs together to address removal of more matrixes and compounds

• Decrease in O&M cost due emerging technologies and market development• Skid or module treatment pilots that could be deployed in a small and remote 

communities in a relative short period of time• Diversity of application: water and wastewater treatment, remediation projects, 

potable and drinking water

AOPS + CECSToday’s market

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AOPS + CECS

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• A shorter retention time provided better performance in disinfection and atrazine removal.• The effect of ozone concentration in the feed gas differed depending on the catalyst.• The catalysts dampened the negative effect of NO2 and COD on efficiency of treatment.• Treatment performance for disinfection was maintained when treating real wastewater.

• TiO2‐Al2O3 and AL‐1010S improved disinfection and CECs removal.• Polonite® did not enhance the removal of CEC but led to higher E. coli inactivation.• Zeolite and wollastonite provided limited effects in the range of conditions tested.• •OH were important for the removal of compounds with low reactivity towards ozone.• AL‐1010S and TiO2‐Al2O3 seem to be reusable based on preliminary testing.

WHO WE ARE

QM Environmental is an Environmental & Industrial Services company with offices and qualified teams strategically located across Canada. We provide end‐to‐end capabilities to the industries and customers we serve.

We offer technical expertise across a full range of services and a strong commitment to safely delivering quality, value, and integrity to every project and backed by over 30 years of experience. 

With a team of over 700 employees, we solve environmental challenges through our best practices in Health & Safety, project management, regulatory compliance, and communication.

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Our Services Include:

• Environmental Remediation

• Hazardous Materials Abatement

• Demolition/Decommissioning

• Strategic Emergency Management

• Environmental Response Services

• Waste Management & Facilities

• Water Treatment

• Training

• Materials Recycling

INTEGRATED SERVICE OFFERINGS

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Mississauga –Corporate Head Office

Hamilton – Waste Management 

Facility

Stoney Creek Regional Office

Ottawa –Regional Office

Port Hope –Regional Office

Calgary Regional Corporate Office

Edmonton Regional Office

Delta Corporate 

Regional Office

Victoria Regional Office

Saskatoon Regional Office

COAST TO COAST INTEGRATION

• Explore the development of new technologies for the removal of CECs from water• Provide economical and environmentally efficient technology for PFAS removal, 

achieving 99.9% in pilot case studies• Create standalone or integrated design build solutions for complex and pressing 

issues through a collaborative and forward thinking model.

NEXT STEPS

Discussion and Collaboration

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Engaging Various Stakeholders

• Environmental Consultants• Engineering Consultants• Indigenous Groups• Industry• Federal and Municipal Agencies

Addressing Contaminants of Emerging Concern 

Thank You

Peter Kolosov, Ph.D., EITWater Treatment Project Manager

Peter.Kolosov@QMenv.com (604) 238 – 2257 (o)(604) 328 – 5892 (c)