Analysis, occurrence, fate and behaviour of emerging micropollutants in wastewater and the receiving environment 

    Gusmaroli, Lucia (Date of defense: 2020-05-25)

    The presence of xenobiotics - such as pharmaceutically active compounds, endocrine disrupting compounds and pesticides - in the aquatic environment has risen great environmental concern due to their high toxicity even at ...

    Characterization of dissolved organic matter in wastewater using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry 

    Verkh, Yaroslav (Date of defense: 2019-01-28)

    Individual hazardous chemicals and substance mixtures with synergistic toxicity ef-fects occur in the dissolved organic matter (DOM) of wastewater and negatively im-pact human health. Yet a large number of chemicals and ...

    Chemometric methods to process online spectrometry for quality monitoring of different water matrices 

    Plà Castellana, Mireia (Date of defense: 2023-02-24)

    Water quality monitoring during the purification and sanitation processes in Drinking Water Treatment Plants (DWTP), Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) and Water Reclamation Plants (ERA) is a necessary step to obtain a ...

    Combining forward osmosis and anaerobic membrane bioreactor technologies for raw municipal wastewater treatment 

    Ferrari, Federico (Date of defense: 2020-10-14)

    In this thesis, different studies were performed to investigate the combination of FO for the pre-concentration of municipal WW with an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) for the production of biogas. Firstly, a ...

    Design of hybrid nano-engineered bioprocesses for wastewater treatment 

    Ponzelli, Michele (Date of defense: 2023-12-11)

    Freshwater scarcity is a growing concern, prompting the exploration of water reuse strategies. Anaerobic wastewater treatment is gaining popularity due to its low energy requirements and the potential for resource recovery. ...

    Electrochemical control and minimization of hydrogen sulfide formation in anaerobic systems 

    Sergienko, Natalia (Date of defense: 2021-10-13)

    Formation of hydrogen sulfide represents a major challenge in the operation of wastewater collection systems. Hydrogen sulfide is malodourous and toxic gas, which causes corrosion of pipes, wells, and constructions, hence ...

    Elimination of micropollutants in conventional and novel nitrogen removal processes. A comparative assessment of diverse microbial communities capabilities 

    Kassotaki, Elissavet (Date of defense: 2018-09-07)

    Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) can pose a significant risk to the environment and human health, undermining prosperity. Current wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) cannot ...

    Evaluation and comparison of advanced treatment technologies to enhance the removal of pharmaceutical active compounds from wwtp secondary effluent 

    Sbardella, Luca (Date of defense: 2019-05-22)

    The presence of several pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs) in water bodies has garnered increasing attention and worldwide concern. The effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are one of the main sources ...

    Flow alteration and wastewater inputs effects on freshwater communities in Mediterranean rivers 

    Mor Roy, Jordi-René (Date of defense: 2019-09-19)

    Mediterranean rivers are characterized by high hydrological variability and heterogeneity of habitats, placing themselves amongst arid and temperate climates, and are associated with high biological diversity. On the ...

    Fugitive green-house gas emissions during biological wastewater treatment: investigating sources and mitigation strategies in laboratory and full-scale systems 

    Rodríguez-Caballero, Adrián (Date of defense: 2015-03-20)

    The exponential increase of the atmospheric concentration of green-house gases due to human activities is responsible for the acceleration of global warming and climate change. Recently, scientific studies have pointed ...

    Greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment processes: identifying triggering factors at laboratory and full-scale systems 

    Ribera Guàrdia, Anna (Date of defense: 2017-12-12)

    This thesis focuses on the study of the global green house gas (GHG) emissions from wastewater systems. Nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) are the main GHG directly emitted from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). In ...

    Integrated assessment of wastewater treatment plants and their receiving river systems in a global change context 

    Aymerich Blazquez, Ignasi (Date of defense: 2019-01-22)

    For a long time, there has been a need and an ambition to better understand the behavior of integrated systems by considering the whole urban water cycle, including wastewater transportation, wastewater treatment and the ...

    Mass transport and fouling of novel forward osmosis thin-film composite membranes 

    Sauchelli Toran, Marc (Date of defense: 2019-07-18)

    Forward osmosis (FO) is known to be particularly efficient at treating impaired water sources with a high fouling potential. In the context of water reuse FO is being introduced as a robust pre-treatment process, usually ...

    Removal of pharmaceuticals in wastewater combining different treatment technologies: suspect screening identification and risk assessment of transformation products 

    Jaén Gil, Adrián (Date of defense: 2021-05-28)

    The low efficiency of wastewater treatment plants to achieve the complete removal of micropollutants, including pharmaceuticals, has motivated the development of alternative water technologies to improve their efficiency, ...

    Resilience of water resource recovery facilities: a framework for quantitative model-based assessment 

    Juan García, Pau (Date of defense: 2019-02-04)

    The water sector is entering a period of uncertainty, as stressors such as climate change pose unknown risks to its infrastructure. Utilities need to build resilience to handle unpredictable changes, but the field of ...

    Sulfide and methane production in anaerobic sewer pipes: from microbial community characterization to effective mitigation strategies 

    Auguet Horta, Olga (Date of defense: 2016-07-13)

    Sewer systems transport wastewater from its source to treatment plants. During this transport, wastewater microorganisms colonize pipe walls and develop biofilms. The activity of microbial communities generates sulfide ...

    Target analysis and suspect screening of wastewater derived contaminants in receiving riverine and coastal areas and assessment of environmental risks 

    Čelić, Mira (Date of defense: 2020-12-15)

    The main objective of this thesis is to evaluate the impact of wastewater discharges on receiving riverine and coastal ecosystems by studying the occurrence and fate of emerging contaminants (ECs). Since there is a myriad ...

    Towards better management of combined sewer systems. A methodology based on low-cost monitoring 

    Montserrat Royuela, Albert (Date of defense: 2015-07-03)

    In combined sewer systems (CSS) wastewater and stormwater flow through the same pipes. During severe rain episodes, the excess combined flow of untreated wastewater and stormwater is released out from the system through ...