The term 'emerging contaminants' refers both to those substances whose presence, in the various matrices, was not investigated, and those substances whose presence was not considered hazardous and were therefore not subject to legislation imposing specific limits. Our team is involved in both evaluating monitoring protocols and the application of new processes to remove these contaminants from water and sewage sludge. More specifically:
Setting up ad-hoc monitoring protocols to quantify the presence within the flows (drinking water, wastewater and sludge)
Development of ad-hoc monitoring protocols to quantify presence within streams (drinking water, wastewater and sludge)
Even before studying the possible inclusion of new technology for the removal of emerging contaminants, it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of the context in which one is going to operate. In these terms, our group is involved in developing ad-hoc monitoring protocols of existing plants and streams with a twofold purpose: (i) to quantify the presence of the emerging contaminant(s) under study and (ii) to define the current capacity of the existing plant in removing these substances. Study and application of technologies for the effective removal of these contaminants.
Study and application of technologies for the effective removal of such contaminants
Often, existing treatment plants are not optimised for effective removal of emerging contaminants. In this case, it is necessary to study and incorporate new technology into the plant chain. Our team evaluates the most appropriate technology based on the substance(s) to be removed, the limit to be met, and the context in which the technology will be allocated. We do this by using pilot plants at laboratory and semi-industrial scale in order to evaluate the performance of the systems tested on the specific contaminant.
Drafting of Water and Sanitation Safety Pla
Water safety plans (WSP) and sanitation safety plans (SSP) are the result of two approaches respectively focused on the analysis of risks related to drinking water and wastewater management. Our team provides support to water utilities in the drafting of these plans in order to assess the risks arising from the water supply and wastewater systems.