Degradation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals during activated sludge reduction by ozone

Abstract Ozonation has been considered to be an effective means for the reduction of excess sludge in recent years. However, it remains largely unknown whether hydrophobic organic micro-pollutants, which are originally adsorbed on activated sludge, will be released into wastewater upon ozonation because of sludge solubilization. This study investigated the degradation efficiencies of several typical endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during sludge ozonation, including estrone (E1), estriol (E3), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), bisphenol A (BPA), and 4-nonylphenol (NP). Results indicate that the EDCs present in activated sludge could be effectively removed by O 3 even though the apparent rate constants in sludge were 3–4 orders of magnitude lower than those in water. However, the applied O 3 dose should be prudently controlled because a low dose (e.g., 29 mg O 3  g −1  SS) may lead to an increase of BPA and NP concentrations in the liquid phase of activated sludge. Furthermore, H 2 O 2 addition or pH adjustment could improve the removal of most studied EDCs, but exert a negative effect on the more hydrophobic and refractory compound, NP.