ABSTRACT
For fungal treatment of wastewater, three types of reactors can be identified with regard to the mode of reactant contact: batch reactors, semi-batch reactors, and flow reactors. A combination of fungal treatment and filtration yields higher pharmacologically active organic micropollutants (PhACs) removal and is feasible by employing fungal treatment with membrane bioreactors. Hospital effluent can be considered as one of the main contributors to the presence of PhACs in the influent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The emerging alternative treatment of pharmaceutical compounds in WWTP effluent is a biological method based on the employment of bioremediation techniques. To establish an ecologically sustainable WWTP, a comprehensive assessment of available options is necessary to meet different standards from a life cycle perspective. The PhACs in the influent of WWTPs present a broad variety of compounds with different concentrations ranging from several milligrams per liter to ultra-trace concentrations of nanograms per liter.
