Despite a rise in application and production volumes for nanomaterials there is a lack of knowledge for the estimation of environmental risks. In the frame of the project “Nano-DESTINARA” the role of wastewater treatment plants for the emission of nanoparticles into the aquatic environment will be investigated. The quantification of the material flow of nanomaterial in municipal wastewater treatment is essential for the calculation of PEC-values (predicted environmental concentration) in risk-assessment for the aquatic environment.
In order to decrease the knowledge gap on the behavior of nanoparticles in wastewater treatment the present project aims to determine the impact of the investigated nanoparticles (TiO2, Ag, CeO2, fullerenes) on the performance of municipal wastewater treatment plants. This comprises both the assessment of the acute and chronic inhibition of various bacterial biocoenosis and the identification of relevant nanoparticle mass flows. Another objective is the elaboration of fundamentals for measuring concepts for wastewater treatment plants and for the discharge into the environment as well as an estimation of the exposition for the selected nanoparticles for Austria. As for the chemical analysis the development of an analytical procedure for fullerenes is aimed.
To achieve the expected outcomes the Institute for Water Quality, Resources and Waste Management of the Vienna University of Technology will conduct laboratory experiments and take samples of representative large-scale wastewater treatment plants. The institute can offer a long-term experience both in biological wastewater treatment and on the behavior of micropollutants in wastewater treatment. The analyses will be done by the Umweltbundesamt Wien GmbH which is a leading expert for environmental and trace analysis. In order to assess the acute inhibitory effect of nanoparticles on the biocoenosis of wastewater treatment plants respiratory measurements with different test concentrations and activated sludge will be done. To study the long-term effects laboratory-scale wastewater treatment plants with and without the addition of nanoparticles will be operated, while the adsorption characteristics of the investigated activated sludge will be investigated with batch tests. Material flow balances for the selected nanoparticles in the various wastewater matrices will be calculated on the base of mass balances evaluated for COD, nitrogen and phosphorus. The calculated material flows and sinks are used to estimate the exposition of the selected nanoparticles for Austria and act as the fundamental for the development of measuring concepts, both for wastewater treatment plants and for the discharge of nanoparticles to various environmental compartments (water, soil).
