Occurrence and removals of micropollutants in water environment

Abstract

Micropollutants are often discharged to surface waters through untreated wastewater from sewage treatment plants and wastewater treatment plants. The presence of micropollutants in surface waters is a serious concern because surface water is usually provided to water treatment plants (WTP) to produce drinking water. Many micropollutants can withstand conventional WTP systems and stay in tap water. In particular, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors are examples of micropollutants that are detected at the drinking water, ppb, or even ppb level. A variety of techniques and processes, especially advanced oxidation processes, have been applied to remove micropollutants from water to control drinking water contamination. This paper reviews recent researches on the occurrence and removal of micropollutants in the aquatic environments and during water treatment processes.