Achievement

The presence of micropollutants in biosolids has raised concern regarding the practice of land application. Of interest are nonylphenol diethoxylate, nonylphenol monoethoxylate, and nonylphenol, collectively referred to as NPE, which accumulate in biosolids and are subject to regulation based on the environmental risks associated with them. Because biosolids are a valuable resource, it is essential that we understand how various treatment processes impact the fate of NPE in biosolids. We investigated the impact of thermal hydrolysis pretreatment on the subsequent biodegradation of NPE in digested biosolids. This research indicates that changes in biosolids processing can have impacts beyond just gas production and solids destruction.

P.J. McNamara, C.A. Wilson, M.T. Wogen, S.N. Murthy, J.T. Novak, P.J. Novak. The effect of thermal hydrolysis pretreatment on the anaerobic degradation of nonylphenol and short-chain nonylphenol ethoxylates in digested biosolids, Water Research (2012).