Advanced Wastewater Treatment Strategies for Potable Reuse in Health-Resilient Cities

为了维持经济发展，淡水的可及性也成为安大略省等水资源丰富地区的一个关键因素。为了灭活病原体和去除废水中难降解的污染物，已经开发了饮用水再利用列车，其设计理念是在二级处理(例如，微滤、反渗透和紫外线引发的高级氧化)之后增加单元工艺“串联”。然而，这种方法已经显示出重大局限性，包括生产高污染的盐水、占地面积大、复原力有限以及对进入水循环的越来越广泛的污染物缺乏效力。多功能反应堆在单一处理阶段集成了新的饮用水再利用工艺，具有开创性，在水源受地源和人为污染物影响的偏远社区进行分散处理的潜力很大。我们已将开发安全、健康弹性和成本效益高的多功能反应堆中运行的饮用水再利用工艺作为该研究计划的战略目标。将开展研究，以填补下列互补领域的知识空白：“替代消毒剂、抗生素抗药性和病毒控制”、“纤维在一级和二级工艺中的去向及其对深度废水处理的影响”和“利用计算流体力学开发和扩大用于饮用水再利用的新型多功能反应器”。在“替代消毒剂、抗生素耐药性和病毒控制”方面，我们的研究将集中在过酸及其副产物在卤素(氟、氯、溴、碘和砷)存在下灭活病原体的机制。此外，我们将评估这些替代消毒剂与过渡金属(铁、钴和钼)组合在促进对抗生素耐药基因和顽固性微污染物的催化氧化方面的效果。为了从机理上了解上游工艺和深度废水处理之间的相互作用，将在“纤维在一级和二级工艺中的去向及其对深度废水处理的影响”方面开展研究，重点是了解高吸收和可缓慢生物降解的纤维微粒的复杂作用以及病原体和微污染物在工厂范围内的去向。最后，将重点评估新开发的集成工艺的可扩展性，重点是“利用计算流体力学开发和扩大用于饮用水再利用的新型多功能反应堆”，其中精心设计的实验室研究将与计算流体力学模型结合使用。这还将涉及将高级还原工艺(ARP)与生物过滤相结合，以加强对全氟烷基物质(PFAS)和其他氧化过程顽固的微污染物的去除。

To sustain economic development, accessibility to freshwater is becoming a key factor also for water-rich regions such as Ontario. Potable reuse trains have been developed to inactivate pathogens and remove recalcitrant pollutants from wastewater with the design philosophy of adding unit processes "in-series" after secondary treatment (e.g., microfiltration, reverse osmosis and UV-initiated advanced oxidation). However, such approach has already shown major limitations including production of highly-polluted brines, large footprint, limited resiliency and lack of efficacy against an increasingly wide range of contaminants entering the water cycle. Multifunctional reactors integrating novel potable reuse processes in a single treatment stage are groundbreaking in nature, and have high potential for decentralized treatment in remote communities with water sources affected by geogenic and anthropogenic pollutants. We have set as strategic objective of this research program the development of safe, health-resilient and cost-effective processes for potable reuse operated in multifunctional reactors. Studies will be carried out to fill knowledge gaps in the following complementary areas: "Alternative disinfectants, antibiotic resistance and virus control", "Fate of fibers in primary and secondary processes and their impact on advanced wastewater treatment" and "Development and scale-up of novel multifunctional reactors for potable reuse using computational fluid dynamics". In the area of "Alternative disinfectants, antibiotic resistance and virus control", our research will focus on the mechanisms of pathogens inactivation by peracids and their byproducts in presence of halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine and astatine). Furthermore, we will assess the efficacy of these alternative disinfectants in combination with transition metals (iron, cobalt and molybdenum) for promoting catalytic oxidation of antibiotic resistant genes and recalcitrant micropollutants. To gain a mechanistic understanding on the interplay between upstream processes and advanced wastewater treatment, research studies will be carried out in the area of "Fate of fibers in primary and secondary processes and their impact on advanced wastewater treatment" focusing on the understanding the complex role of highly-absorbing and slowly biodegradable fiber microparticles and the fate of pathogens and micropollutants at plant wide scale. Finally, the scalability of the newly developed, integrated processes will be assessed focusing on the "Development and scale-up of novel multifunctional reactors for potable reuse using computational fluid dynamics", where well-designed laboratory studies will be used in conjunction with computational fluid dynamics models. This will also involve the integration of advanced reduction processes (ARPs) with biofiltration to enhance the removal of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other micropollutants recalcitrant to oxidation processes.