Volume 2
Journal of Environmental Research
Page 30
JOINT EVENT
July 26-27, 2018 Rome, Italy
&
6
th
Edition of International Conference on
Water Pollution & Sewage Management
4
th
International Conference on
Pollution Control & Sustainable Environment
Tobias Reinhardt, Stephan Wasielewski
and
Ralf Minke
University of Stuttgart, Germany
Organophosphonates: Environmental problems related to them and possible solutions for their
elimination from industrial wastewater
O
rganophosphonates - mainly PBTC, HEDP, NTMP, EDTMP and DTPMP - are increasingly gaining attention of environmental
authorities and scientists. These compounds are used in a wide range of industrial and household applications due to their
excellent complexing properties. Organophosphonates are associated with various environmental issues. For example, phosphate,
which has an eutrophication effect on water bodies, can be formed by their abiotic degradation. In addition, they are associated
with heavy metal remobilization in waters, make it more difficult to comply with strict P discharge targets in wastewater treatment
plants (WWTPs), and in individual cases interfere with the operation of WWTPs due to complex formation. It is estimated that in
2012, with a consumption of 49,000 t/a in Europe, organophosphonates were discharged at 9000–18,600 t/a into European waters
via inadequately purified industrial wastewater and municipal WWTPs. The elimination of organophosphonates specifically from
industrial wastewaters is therefore strongly recommended. Wastewater contaminated with organophosphonates can be roughly
divided into two categories. On the one hand, there are concentrates, e.g. from membrane filtration and cooling water treatment,
where phosphonates are used as antiscalants and hardness stabilizers. On the other hand, there are mainly organically contaminated
wastewaters containing phosphonates from industrial cleaning agents or, e.g., from paper and textile industries, where phosphonates
are used as bleach stabilizers. This wide variety of possible wastewater matrixes requires different approaches in terms of the
objective to eliminate organophosphonates from industrial wastewater. The presentation will compare different wastewater treatment
processes (precipitation/flocculation with Fe
III
or Ca(OH)
2
, (photo-)Fenton, UV/Fe
II
, filtration) and will present the effects of the
wastewater matrix on these processes. For example, the presence of Ca
II
promotes the adsorption of phosphonates on iron hydroxides.
Furthermore, organophosphonates can impede the precipitation of iron hydroxides due to their complexing properties.
Recent Publications
1. Rott E, Steinmetz H and Metzger J W (2018) Organophosphonates: A review on environmental relevance,
biodegradability and removal in wastewater treatment plants. Science of the Total Environment 615:1176-1191.
2. Rott E, Minke R, Bali U and Steinmetz H (2017) Removal of phosphonates from industrial wastewater with UV/FeII,
Fenton and UV/Fenton treatment. Water Research 122:345-354.
3. Rott E, Minke R and Steinmetz H (2017) Removal of phosphorus from phosphonate-loaded industrial wastewaters via
precipitation/flocculation. Journal of Water Process Engineering 17:188-196.
Biography
Eduard Rott has completed his PhD in the field of Environmental Engineering at University of Stuttgart, Germany. He is working as a Postdoctoral Scientist in the Institute
for Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality and Solid Waste Management at University of Stuttgart, Germany.
eduard.rott@iswa.uni-stuttgart.deEduard Rott
University of Stuttgart, Germany
Eduard Rott, J Environ Res 2018, Volume: 2