Jörg E. Drewes

Technical University of Munich, Germany · Chair of Urban Water Systems Engineering

The resilience of microbial communities to press-disturbances and whether ecosystem function is governed by microbial composition or by the environment have not been empirically tested. To address these issues, a whole-ecosystem manipulation was performed in a full-scale activated sludge wastewater treatment plant. The parameter sludge retention ti...

This study was performed to reveal the microbial community characteristics in simulated managed aquifer recharge (MAR), a natural water treatment system, under different concentrations and compositions of biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) and further link these to the biotransformation of emerging trace organic chemicals (TOrCs). Two pa...

The results of this study reveal a strong linear correlation (R2 = 0.95) between the rejections of boron and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) by six different reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, suggesting that boron can be used as a surrogate for NDMA rejection. This proposal is based on the premise that the rejection of both boric acid and NDMA is gover...

The role of abundant and rare taxa in modulating the performance of wastewater treatment systems is a critical component of making better predictions for enhanced functions such as micropollutant biotransformations. In this study, we compared 16S rRNA genes (rDNA) and rRNA gene expression of taxa in an activated sludge treatment plant (sequencing b...

Previous lab-scale studies demonstrated that stimulating the indigenous soil microbial community of groundwater recharge systems by manipulating the availability of biodegradable organic carbon (BDOC) and establishing sequential redox conditions in the subsurface resulted in enhanced removal of compounds with redox-dependent removal behavior such a...

The capability of graphene oxide (GO) to enhance direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) and improve anaerobic digestion (AD) performance is gaining attention in AD literature. The present review discusses the implications of GO and its ambivalent role in AD. Under anaerobic conditions, GO is rapidly converted to biologically reduced graphene...

The confluence of pervasiveness, bioaccumulation, and toxicity in freshwater contaminants presents an environmental threat second to none. Exemplifying this trifecta, per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) present an alarming hazard among the emerging contaminants. State‐of‐the‐art PFAS adsorbents used in drinking water treatment, namely, activ...

In this study, we evaluated the ability of various pilot-scale treatment train combinations to meet the microbial requirements of the new European non-potable water reuse regulation 2020/741. The study utilized nondisinfected secondary effluent from the wastewater treatment plant in Schweinfurt, Germany, as feedwater for two pilot-scale treatment t...

Multiple catalytic oxidation processes involving new synthesized materials have recently been examined to replace conventional oxidative treatment methods for water purification, but upscaling and demonstration stages are mostly lacking, which hinders their practical implementation. In this study, we introduce a novel catalytic process where peroxy...

Sonolytic degradation kinetics of hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (HFPO-DA or GenX) were studied for the first time at four high ultrasonic frequencies (375, 580, 860 and 1,140 kHz) and three power densities (200, 300 and 400 W/L), and compared to the degradation of previously studied perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic a...

Membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs) are an emerging technology for nutrient removal; however, a trade-off remains between their removal rate and oxygen transfer efficiency. This study compares nitrifying flow-through MABRs operated under continuous and intermittent aeration modes at mainstream wastewater ammonia levels. The intermittently-aer...

Aliphatic amines are abundant micropollutants in wastewater treatment plant effluents. In order to mitigate such micropollutants, ozonation is one of the most commonly employed advanced treatment processes. Current research regarding ozone efficiency is heavily focusing on reaction mechanisms of different contaminant groups, including structures wi...

Pathogen removal in managed aquifer recharge (MAR) systems is dependent upon numerous operational, physicochemical water quality, and biological parameters. Due to the site-specific conditions affecting these parameters, guidelines for specifying pathogen removal have historically taken rather precautionary and conservative approaches in order to p...

Several oxidative treatment technologies, such as ozonation or Fenton reaction, have been studied and applied to remove monocyclic hydroaromatic carbon from water. Despite decades of application, little seems to be known about formation of transformation products while employing different ozone- or ∙OH-based treatment methods and their fate in biod...

Anaerobic digestion reactors may suffer from acidification when overloading occurs. Carbon-based materials are amended to mitigate the souring effects of excessive loading. This study aims to test if graphene oxide (GO) helps overloaded anaerobic reactors recover faster. Batch tests were conducted following a fed-batch strategy at different GO leve...

Biodosimetry can be used to estimate the fluence of a reactor by determining its ability to inactivate a challenge organism. Especially for small-scale flow-through reactors, inconsistent procedures are reported for bacterial cells. This study aims to develop a standardized, simple procedure for bacterial biodosimetry in flow-through UV systems wit...

Efforts associated with common analytical techniques for microplastics including spectroscopic and thermo-analytical techniques are limiting the ability to perform large-scale monitoring of microplastics in the aquatic environment, because the analytical equipment required is costly and the analysis itself time consuming. Thus, there is a need to d...

This study investigates the impact of graphene oxide (GO) addition to anaerobic sludge and the formation of biologically reduced GO (bioRGO) on both the anaerobic transformation of organic contaminants and the corresponding biogas production. A hydrogel-like material of anaerobic digestate and bioRGO was formed on the first day after GO addition. R...

With the rapid expansion of cities due to population growth and urbanization, conventional centralized wastewater collection and treatment systems are slowly becoming a burden; expensive maintenance is required for aging plants and piping infrastructure, the cost of expanding the capacity to cover demand from population growth, and new regulations...

Assessing the sorption of trace organic compounds (TOrCs) into micro- and nanoplastic particles has traditionally been performed using an aqueous phase analysis or solvent extractions from the particle. Using thermal extraction/desorption–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD-Pyr-GC/MS) offers a possibility to analyze the TOrCs directly from the...

Despite the widespread use of membrane separation processes for water treatment, operation costs and fouling still restrict their application. Costs can be overcome by recycled membranes whereas fouling can be mitigated by membrane modification. In this work, the performance of recycled reverse osmosis membranes modified by greener titanium dioxide...

Membrane ultrafiltration (UF) constitutes a promising technology to remove viruses including phages from water. However, the removal efficiency of viruses such as MS2 phages strongly depends on operational parameters, such as flux and transmembrane pressure (TMP) conditions during UF. Initially, we investigated during this lab-scale study if the in...

The study aims to prove that the addition of graphene oxide (GO) improves anaerobic digestion (AD) kinetic performance. Classical batch tests were modified to a fed-batch strategy at four GO levels while using two substrates (glucose and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC)). First-order and modified Gompertz models were respectively applied to evaluat...

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) may represent point sources for microplastic discharge into the environment. Quantification of microplastic in effluents of WWTPs has been targeted by several studies although standardized methods are missing to enable a comparability of results. This study discusses theoretical and practical perspectives on best...

Low-pressure membrane filtration was investigated at pilot scale with regard to its removal of ARGs in conventional secondary treated wastewater plant effluents. While operating microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, key operational parameters for AMR studies and key factors influencing AMR removal efficiencies of low-pressure mem...

The interest to monitor microplastics in various environmental matrices has grown substantially in recent years. However, monitoring microplastics remains a challenge due to interactions with complex environmental matrices, especially those rich in natural organic matter (NOM) like wastewater effluents. Therefore, sample preparation methods are nee...

This study aimed to manufacture a hybrid UV-LED and membrane distillation module (UV-LED-MD) for the first time. Its performance in wastewater post-treatment was evaluated, and the effect of UV-LED on membrane fouling was investigated. The removals of 17α-ethynylestradiol and estrogenic activity in the hybrid module were also assessed. In prelimina...

Membrane ultrafiltration (UF) combined with inline dosing of powdered activated carbon (PAC) are popular hybrid processes for water reclamation. However, hydrodynamic forces can allow mobile genetic elements (MGEs) that are larger than the membrane pore size to penetrate through UF membranes. The flow fields in the feed channel of a dead-end UF mem...

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) systems provide effective removal of many water contaminants including suspended solids, organic matter, pathogens, and numerous trace organic chemicals (TOrCs). TOrC removal is primarily driven by biotransformations performed by subsurface microbial communities. However, variable extents of TOrC biotransformation hav...

Climate-resilient water safety plans (CR-WSPs) have been developed as a risk-based approach to ensure a safe drinking-water supply while addressing the increasing stress on water resources resulting from climate change. Current examples of the application of CR-WSPs show a strong sectoral approach that fails to explore the potential synergies betwe...

With economic and population growth, industrialization, urbanization, and globalization, demand for natural resources such as water, energy, and food continues to increase, particularly in cities. Overconsumption of resources has led to degradation of the environment, a process that is interacting with and is further accelerated by a dangerous alte...

Membranes modified with nanocomposites are a new strategy for improving the performance of membrane separation processes. The addition of nanocomposites to membranes changes their characteristics, such as porosity, hydrophilicity, and roughness. Besides, the modification can confer unique properties, such as photocatalytic activity, which enables t...

Membrane distillation (MD) is a promising technology of the water-energy nexus suitable for generating high-quality water. Like other membrane processes, MD is susceptible to all fouling types. Previously, MD biofouling did not receive much attention since MD operates at temperatures higher than most microorganisms can survive. However, biofouling...

Complex microbial communities in environmental systems play a key role in the detoxification of chemical contaminants by transforming them into less active metabolites or by complete mineralization. Biotransformation, i.e., transformation by microbes, is well understood for a number of priority pollutants, but a similar level of understanding is la...

Monitoring of microplastics (MP) release into the aquatic environment is an important topic and proposed point sources for microplastics are wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Three full-scale WWTPs (A, B, C) were investigated to compare the effect of continuously and discontinuously backwashed sand filters to retain microplastics from secondary...

The pressure on available freshwater resources due to urbanization and climate change impacts is increasing worldwide; so follows the need to explore unconventional resources. Water reuse and desalination are viable options for alternative water supplies, also for regions that had no need to consider these approaches in the past. However, these sol...

Die verbreitetsten Verfahren zur Identifikation und zahlenmäßigen Quantifizierung von Mikroplastikpartikeln bis 10 µm bzw. 1 µm sind die mikro-Fourier Transformation-Infrarotspektroskopie und Raman-Mikrospektroskopie. Thermoanalytische Verfahren wiederum nutzen polymerspezifische Pyrolyse-Produkte, um Arten der einzelnen Polymere und deren Massenge...

Risk-based approaches are used to define performance standards for water and wastewater treatment to meet health-based targets and to ensure safe and reliable water quality for desired end use. In this study, a screening level QMRA for a non-membrane based indirect potable reuse (IPR) system utilizing the sequential managed aquifer recharge technol...

OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE AT: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/4/1164 with ABSTRACT: Micro- and nanoplastic particles are increasingly seen not only as contaminants themselves, but also as potential vectors for trace organic chemicals (TOrCs) that might sorb onto these particles. An analysis of the sorbed TOrCs can either be performed directly from th...

Water reclamation and reuse represent a promising approach to mitigate water related use conflicts especially in the agricultural sector where challenges with regard to water management are increasingly exacerbated by the effects of climate change. However, for the conceptualization and implementation of non-potable water reuse projects for agricul...

Humans are increasingly dependent on engineered landscapes to minimize negative health impacts of water consumption. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) systems, such as river and lake bank filtration, surface spreading or direct injection into the aquifer have been used for decades for water treatment and storage. Microbial and sorptive processes in th...

Hybrid membrane processes such as inline dosing of powdered activated carbon (PAC) prior to ultrafiltration membranes (UF) have already shown promising potential for the abatement of trace organic chemicals (TOrCs). However, questions regarding the optimization of the operational stability by the employment of coagulation and its interferences with...

In 2015, the town of El Port de la Selva in Spain implemented soil-aquifer treatment (SAT) using tertiary treated wastewater effluents to replenish the local potable aquifer. This study evaluated the initial phase of this indirect potable water reuse system including a characterization of hydraulic conditions in the aquifer and monitoring of microb...

The removal of trace organic chemicals (TOrCs) from treated wastewater and impacted surface water through managed aquifer recharge (MAR) has been extensively studied under a variety of water quality and operating conditions and at various experimental scales. The primary mechanism thought to dictate removal over the long term is biodegradation by m...

Worldwide, consumption of resources such as water, energy and food continues to rise exponentially despite environmental and climatic change related challenges. Centralized sewerage systems continue to be implemented worldwide despite being very water and energy intensive, and although this is not always the best option for regions facing water sca...

Zunehmende Nutzungskonflikte im Wassersektor sowie unsicherer werdende Verfügbarkeiten von schon heute angespannten Wasserressourcen, verschärft durch Auswirkungen des Klimawandels, erfordern eine wesentlich effizientere und nachhaltigere Bewirtschaftung der Ressource Wasser als es derzeit üblich ist. Auch in Deutschland sind einige Regionen von di...

Biofouling is a major concern for numerous reverse osmosis membrane systems. UV pretreatment of the feed stream showed promising results but is still not an established technology as it does not maintain a residual effect. By conducting accelerated biofouling experiments in this study, it was investigated whether low fluence UV in situ treatment of...

Based on three pilot- and demonstration-scale projects investigating agricultural irrigation practices with reclaimed water, risks associated with these water reuse practices are highlighted and processes and strategies to minimize associated microbial risks were evaluated. A number of treatment processes and combinations were tested regarding thei...

Gas-liquid membrane contactors are frequently proposed as promising alternative for traditional ozone injection methods in water treatment. However, information on successfully implemented large-scale applications is scarce. This review discusses the state of research of ozone membrane contactors for water and wastewater applications with a focus o...

Micro-, submicro- and nanoplastic particles are increasingly regarded as vectors for trace organic chemicals. In order to determine adsorbed trace organic chemicals on polymers, it has usually been necessary to carry out complex extraction steps. With the help of a newly designed thermal desorption pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD...

Removal of trace organic chemicals (TOrCs) at environmentally relevant concentrations was investigated in technical sand and biological activated carbon (BAC) biofilters processing nearly 90000 bed volumes. This long time period allowed assessment of potential synergies from the interplay of adsorption, desorption, and biodegradation after full bre...

Water quality, in combination with design and operational data collected from multiple studies, was assessed to benchmark the performance of ozone‐biologically active filtration in reuse applications. A total of 149 contaminants of emerging concern, representative of multiple categories and chemical structures, were prioritized and systematically c...

There is a growing interest in monitoring microplastics in the environment, corresponding to increased public concerns regarding their potential adverse effects on ecosystems. Monitoring microplastics in the environment is difficult due to the complex matrices that can prevent reliable analysis if samples are not properly prepared first. Unfortunat...

As many regions seek to supplement traditional water sources with reclaimed water, an increasing number of risk assessments are conducted for these types of applications. The most comprehensive approach is to conduct a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) combining empirical and literature data, point value estimates, and probability distr...

The focus of this study was to investigate the efficacy of applying boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes in an electrochemical advanced oxidation process, for the removal of the target compound diclofenac (DCF) in different water matrices. The reduction of DCF, and at the same time the formation of transformation products (TPs) and inorganic by-pro...

Brian Pecson and Daniel Gerrity present an Editorial Perspective which focuses on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the water industry.

Das Thema Mikroplastik erfährt große Aufmerksamkeit in der Bevölkerung, die nach Aufklärung zu den damit in Zusammenhang stehenden potenziellen Gefahren verlangt. Bedingt durch die komplexen und uneinheitlichen analytischen Nachweis- und Quantifizierungsverfahren fehlen jedoch bislang vergleichbare Daten zur Menge von Mikroplastik in der Umwelt ode...

The sequence of two infiltration steps combined with an intermediate aeration named ‘sequential managed aquifer recharge technology (SMART)’ proved to be a promising approach to replenish groundwater using treated wastewater effluents or impaired surface waters due to efficient inactivation of pathogens and improved removal of many trace organic ch...

Due to the rapid urbanization attaining full coverage of wastewater treatment is a challenge in several countries, for developing nations. The conventional wastewater management approach experienced in different countries does not satisfy the current wastewater treatment need of the city. Also, the decentralized technologies practiced so far is int...

The impact of ultrasound (US) reactor design on cavitation intensity distribution and disintegration efficiency was studied for sewage sludge pre-treatment, using a US flatbed reactor of variable reaction chamber height (RCH, 20 – 100 mm). Mapping of cavitation intensity and treatment effects was conducted using (i) hydrophone measurements, (ii) al...

By applying favorable oxic and oligotrophic conditions through subsequent aeration and an additional infiltration step, the sequential managed aquifer recharge technology (SMART) was proven to better remove trace organic chemicals (TOrCs) than conventional MAR systems. To minimize the physical footprint, pumping costs and hydraulic retention times,...

Efficient adsorption of certain trace organic chemicals (TOrCs) present in secondary treated municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents onto granular activated carbon (GAC) has already been demonstrated at lab- and full-scale. Due to high organic matter concentrations in WWTP effluents, GAC filters eventually develop a biofilm and turn i...

Sugarcane vinasse is the byproduct of ethanol production and, in many places, its final disposition has been its application in cane fields through fertigation. However, the incorrect practice of this technique can result in soil acidification, increase of salinity, and contamination of groundwater. Appropriate technologies and treatment processes...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are widespread and environmentally persistent chemicals that readily bind to particles in air, soil and sediment. Plastic particles, which are also an ubiquitous global contamination problem, may thus modulate their environmental fate and ecotoxicity. First, the acute aqueous toxicity of phenanthrene in adult Gammar...

The impact of high flow rates and increased viscosity of digested sewage sludge (DS) on the cavitation intensity in ultrasonic tube reactors was determined by use of a hydrophone. The results indicate a reduction of cavitation intensity in DS by 11% at an average flow velocity of 0.4 m/s compared to batch sonication. Slightly increased flow velocit...

The present study assessed the performance of ultrasonic co-treatment, i.e., the treatment of digested sewage sludge in continuously operated anaerobic digesters. Experiments were carried out using a non-sonicated control digester and a sonicated test digester. The test digester received side-stream sonication (∼10% of reactor volume per day) at a...