Defence of dissertation in the field of water and environmental engineering, Antonina Kruglova, M.Sc.

The public examination of the doctoral dissertation of Antonina Kruglova, M.Sc., will be held on 29th June 2018 at 12.00 at the Aalto University School of Engineering. The title of the dissertation is Biological removal of emerging micropollutants in nitrifying activated sludge at low temperatures. Field of the dissertation is water and environmental engineering.

Opponent: Dr. Sara Rodriguez-Mozaz, Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Spain

Supervisor: Professor Riku Vahala, Aalto University, School of Engineering, Department of Built Environment

Painkillers, hormones, antibiotics and other emerging compounds widely used in modern society have recently been added to the list of wastewater pollutants. However, since the existing wastewater treatment plants are not designed for the removal of these substances, they are able to pass through the common treatment steps. Consequently, these pollutants have been detected in micro-concentrations in the environmental waters all over the world. The toxic effects on the aquatic organisms, spreading antibiotic resistance and growing concentrations due to constant consumption of these substances are calling for the new treatment solutions.

According to this study, the removal of the discussed pollutants from wastewater in Finland is limited by cold climate conditions. The main reason is the strong negative effect of low temperatures on bacteria and other microorganisms, which are commonly used in treating municipal wastewaters. However, the research showed that optimization of the existing treatment technologies can significantly improve the removal of several studied substances and therefore decrease the environmental pollution. Additionally, process configurations may affect the growth of low-temperature adapted microorganisms and their removal potential. Altogether, the study suggests that low-temperature conditions should be considered as an important parameter in modern wastewater treatment plant design.

Electronic dissertation: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/49

Contact information: Antonina Kruglova, [email protected], phone: +358449290358

Venue: Lecture hall M1, Otakaari 1, Espoo, Espoo.