Cross-cutting issues, micropollutants and PFAS

Persistent microcontaminants, particularly PFAS, are increasingly being detected in water due to increased direct consumption, the use of goods containing them, and/or their production by humans.

Suez has solid expertise in the removal of micropollutants throughout the treatment chain, from wastewater treatment plants to drinking water production plants. The technologies used, either alone or in combination, can reduce the flow of quantified micropollutants by up to 95%. In drinking water production plants, the regulated micropollutants are somewhat different from those monitored in wastewater treatment plants.

drinking water production

Conventional refinement technologies used to remove pesticides and compounds responsible for taste and odor, i.e., those based on activated carbon, sometimes supplemented by ozone oxidation, as well as low-pressure reverse osmosis membrane systems, make it possible to achieve the required treatment levels.

wastewater treatment

Ozone (Oxyblue® Ozone) and activated carbon (granular, Carbablue®, and powdered, Pulsagreen®) have established themselves as the basis for cutting-edge technologies for the removal of micropollutants.

Case of PFAS

These chemicals react to treatments often used in drinking water production to remove other micropollutants such as pesticides, drug residues, or other industrial chemicals such as chlorinated solvents. The technologies used in this field include adsorption on activated carbon, separation using low-pressure filtration membranes (low-pressure reverse osmosis or nanofiltration) and adsorption on specific ion exchange resins.

among our references

• Ternay, France: Drinking water production, 170,000 PE, Carbazur® Simplex for optimized PFAS treatment
• Sofia-Antipolis, France: ERU 50,000 PE (Oxyblue®) for the removal of trace organic compounds

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