Simulation-based optimization of advanced wastewater treatment with powdered activated carbon

Abstract

This research introduces a competitive modeling method to forecast the adsorption of organic micropollutants (OMP) on powdered activated
carbon (PAC) in full-scale advanced wastewater treatment processes. Calibration of the model is based on batch experiments to assess adsorption isotherms. Full-scale measurement campaigns were used for validation, revealing that the model predicted OMP elimination with about 5 % deviation, although it underestimated diclofenac removal by 15–20 % in both the adsorption stage and the entire treatment process. Model testing showed that returning excess PAC to the biological stage increased OMP removal efficiency, with improvements of up to 15 %. Simulations also indicated that, during rain events, the overall elimination efficiency of OMP in the treatment plant dropped by roughly 50 %. Additionally, testing various control strategies for PAC dosing demonstrated potential PAC savings of 10–15 % compared to inflow-proportional
dosing.