Fate and Management of Emerging Contaminants (FAME)

由于快速工业化所支持的持续的人口变化、城市化和不断变化的生活方式，所谓的新兴污染物（ECs）污染是印度、英国和全球新兴的环境和公共卫生问题。药品、个人护理产品、杀虫剂和工业化合物统称为ECs。除其他影响外，它们还会导致水生动物甚至人类的抗生素耐药性增加和内分泌紊乱。传统的污水处理厂在处理这些污染物方面的表现好坏参半，甚至在处理更传统的污染物时可能受到ec的不利影响。也有证据表明，wtp可以作为耐抗生素致病菌的宿主。由于数据有限，ECs在环境和废水处理中的命运仍未得到充分研究，这限制了我们提供有针对性的经济有效处理的能力。本研究旨在研究生态系统的来源和命运及其在接收水域和wtp中的相互作用，并制定新的可持续管理策略以改善水质。在该项目中，两条河流将被监测：北部的亚穆纳河（在污染最严重的一段，贡献了德里70%的供水需求）和南部的高韦里河（印度最抽干的河流）。调查还将在印度10个污水处理厂的废水和污泥处理线上进行ec的命运，并与英国选定的工厂进行比较。调查还将包括在处理和使用生物固体期间ec的命运。这项工作将有助于制定基于证据的废水排放标准和安全使用受污染污泥的指南。我们还将寻求为城市和农村社区的ECs治疗开发新颖、具有成本效益和适用的解决方案。将研究几种方法，包括零/有限能源消耗的自然处理系统配置；以及基于空间节约系统的新一代吸附剂的开发和新颖应用；节能膜和无化学品处理。这项工作将有助于制定最佳处理系统的设计和操作指南，而这些系统只需要极少的运维人员的投入。最后，我们打算开发一个新的决策支持系统，以自动生成和识别可持续的治疗策略，作为用户定义约束和上下文的函数。这将作为一种谈判工具，使不同利益相关者的目标和偏好的影响可视化。该工具将在印度和英国的一系列终端用户中试用。

Owing to on-going demographic shifts, urbanisation and changing life styles supported by rapid industrialisation, pollution by so-called emerging contaminants (ECs) is an emerging environmental and public health concern in India, the UK and globally. Pharmaceuticals, personal-care products, pesticides & industrial compounds, are collectively known as ECs. They lead to, among other effects, increasing antibiotic resistance and endocrine disruption in aquatic animals and possibly humans. Conventional wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) have a mixed performance in dealing with such contaminants and might even be adversely affected by the ECs in treating more conventional pollutants. There is also evidence that WTPs can act as reservoirs of antibiotic resistant pathogenic bacteria. Due to limited availability of data, the fate of ECs in the environment and wastewater treatment remains under-investigated, limiting our ability to provide targeted cost effective treatment.The research aims to study the sources and fate of ECs and their interactions in receiving waters and WTPs and develop novel and sustainable management strategies to improve water quality. In the project, two rivers will be monitored: the Yamuna in the north (in the most polluted stretch, contributing to 70% of Delhi's water supply needs) & the Cauvery in the south (the most abstracted river in India). Investigations will also be made on the fate of ECs during wastewater and sludge treatment line at 10 WTPs in India and compared with selected plants in the UK. Investigations will also include, the fate of ECs during the treatment and use of bio-solids. The work will help to develop evidence based wastewater discharge standards and guidance for safe use of contaminated sludge. We will also look to develop novel, cost effective and fit for purpose solutions for the treatment of ECs in urban and rural communities. Several approaches will be investigated including zero/limited energy consuming natural treatment systems configurations; and space saving systems based on the development and novel application of a new generation of adsorbents; energy efficient membranes and chemicals free treatment. The work will help the development of design and operation guidance for optimal treatment systems requiring limited input from O&M staff. Finally, we intend to develop a novel decision support system to automatically generate and identify sustainable treatment strategies as a function of user defined constraints and contexts. This will serve as a negotiation tool to visualise the impact of different stakeholders objectives and preferences. The tool will be trialled with a range of end users in India and UK.