P-42

With increasing access to healthcare all over the world, more and more drugs are prescribed. With increased prescription more drugs ends up in the sewage system and eventually in the surface and ground water which is again the source for drinking water production. Although Western Europe seems to be blessed with clean water from the tap, reports on issues related to drinking water quality are increasing at an alarming rate. It has been reported that the presence of micro-pollutants in water, such as pesticides, drug residues and hormone-disrupting compounds, have a negative effect on our health after long term exposure at small concentrations.

The most important technology to remove these medicinal residues from (waste) water is to prevent these components end up in the (waste) water, or to develop medicines that are fully biodegradable. This will be a (very) long route, and the question is whether this will ever be achieved. Therefore (combinations of) technologies have to be developed that are able to remove these micro-pollutants from various water streams, such activated carbon, ozone, ultraviolet combined with peroxide, membrane filtration, either as stand-alone technology and in any hybrid form.

This project focuses on the development and characterization of a new type of Layer-by-Layer nanofiltration (LBL-NF)-membranes. Because measuring very low medicine residues is difficult (i.e. in the range of ng and pg) the new membranes were initially characterized based on their salt removal efficiencies using different salt solutions, and the most promising type was disposed to several micro pollutants. In the presentations the experimental results of the removal efficiencies will be discussed as well as the influence of the process hydrodynamics on the process efficiency.