The 21st International Conference “Man and Working Environment”
SAFETY ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, INDUSTRY, EDUCATION (SEMSIE 2025)   
PROCEEDINGS OF PAPERS 
25-26 September 2025, SOKOBANJA, SERBIA  

Andreja Žgajnar Gotvajn , Igor Boševski 

ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER

ENVIRONMENTAL RISK OF MICROPOLLUTANTS: 
THE IMPACT OF REVISED EU DIRECTIVE ON URBAN WASTEWATER

DOI: 10.46793/SEMSIE25.013Z
DOWNLOAD FULL PDF
Abstract:

Contamination of the environment by micropollutants has potentially adverse consequences, raising severe concerns. They were detected and identified in surface, ground, and drinking waters as well as in soils worldwide. Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents are recognized as the main source of the global increase of emerging contaminants. On 26 October 2022, the European Commission published a proposal for the revision of the Council Directive of 21 May 1991 on the treatment of municipal wastewater entitled “Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive – UWWTD”. With the ongoing amendment of EU legislation on urban wastewater treatment, stricter requirements for pollutant removal are expected, driving the need for innovative environmental technologies. Diverse pollutants in urban wastewater, including macronutrients and micropollutants, require advanced treatment technologies that integrate biological, physical, and chemical processes. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) offer several advantages for the removal of micropollutants from wastewater. They facilitate the degradation of pollutants rather than their concentration, as is the case in membrane or adsorption systems, resulting in more thorough removal from wastewater. These processes also do not generate solid residues, reducing the need for additional waste management measures. AOPs have a small footprint, making them suitable for implementation in a variety of wastewater treatment facilities.

Keywords:

 advanced oxidation processes, revised EU directive, micropollutants, sewage sludge, wastewater

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

This study was financed by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS), research program Chemical Engineering (P2-0191). The authors acknowledge the support of the Centre for Research Infrastructure at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, which is part of the Network of Research and Infrastructural Centres UL (MRIC UL) and is financially supported by the Slovenian Research Agency ARIS (Infrastructure programme No. I0-0022). 

REFERENCES:
  • Bosevski, I., & Zgajnar Gotvajn, A. (2021). The impact of single step ozonation of antibiotics-contaminated waste sludge to biogas production. Chemosphere, 271.
  • Boševski, I., & Žgajnar Gotvajn, A. (2023). Biotreatability improvement of antibiotic-contaminated waters: high efficiency of direct ozonation in comparison to hydroxyl radical oxidation. Acta Chimica Slovenica, 70(1), 65-73.
  • Cuerda-Correa, E. M., Alexandre-Franco, M. F., & Fernández-González, C. (2020). Advanced Oxidation Processes for the Removal of Antibiotics from Water: An Overview. Water, 12(10).
  • Derco, J., et al. (2024). A Review About the Occurrence and Effectiveness of Conventional and Advanced Treatment Technologies of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Surface Water. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 12(10).
  • Derco, J., Gulašova, P., Legan, M., Zakhar, R., & Žgajnar Gotvajn, A. (2024). Sustainability strategies in municipal wastewater treatment. Sustainability, 16(20), 1-40. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16209038.
  • Derco, J., Žgajnar Gotvajn, A., Gulašova, P., Šolzysova, N., & Kassai, A. (2024). Selected micropollutant removal from municipal wastewater. Processes, 12(5), 1-31.
  • Dogruel, S., et al. (2020). Ozonation in advanced treatment of secondary municipal wastewater effluents for the removal of micropollutants. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(36), 45460-45475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10339-5.
  • El Najjar, N. H., Touffet, A., Deborde, M., Journel, R., & Vel Leitner, N. K. (2013). Levofloxacin oxidation by ozone and hydroxyl radicals: Kinetic study, transformation products and toxicity. Chemosphere, 93(4), 604-611.
  • EU. (2024). Directive (EU) 2024/3019 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 concerning urban wastewater treatment. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/3019/oj.
  • European Commission. (2024). Proposal for a Revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/proposal-revised-urban-wastewater-treatment-directive_en.
  • Gomes, J., Costa, R., Quinta-Ferreira, R. M., & Martins, R. C. (2017). Application of ozonation for pharmaceuticals and personal care products removal from water. Science of The Total Environment, 586, 265-283.
  • Gong, Y., Li, J., Zhang, Y., Zhang, M., Tian, X., & Wang, A. (2016). Partial degradation of levofloxacin for biodegradability improvement by electro-Fenton process using an activated carbon fiber felt cathode. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 304, 320-328.
  • Gottschalk, F., et al. (2010). Modeling the Environmental Impacts of Engineered Nanomaterials: Exposure Estimation for Nanoparticles Released from Products. Environmental Science & Technology, 44(10).
  • Hermabessiere, L. (2017). Occurrence and effects of plastic additives on marine environments and organisms: A review. Chemosphere, 182, 781-793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.05.096.
  • Irfan, M., et al. (2025). Systematic Review on Monitoring Antibiotic-resistant Pathogens in Wastewater. Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology, 12(10).
  • Kardos, M. K., Patziger, M., Jolankai, Z., & Clemment, A. (2025). The new urban wastewater treatment directive from the perspective of the receiving rivers quality. Environmental Sciences Europe, 37(10).
  • Kravos, A., Žgajnar Gotvajn, A., & Prosen, H. (2024). Cardiovascular drugs as water contaminants and analytical challenges in the evaluation of their degradation. Processes, 12(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12102177.
  • Kravos, A., Žgajnar Gotvajn, A., & Prosen, H. (2024). Utilizing Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) to Understand the Complex Degradation Processes of Phenol, 2,4-Dichlorophenol, and Pentachlorophenol. Environmental Analytical Chemistry, 12(10).
  • Kümmerer, K. (2009). Antibiotics in the aquatic environment – A review - Part I. Chemosphere, 75, 417-434. 00Kümmerer, K. (2009). Antibiotics in the Aquatic Environment—A Review—Part II. Chemosphere, 75, 417-434.
  • Lember, E., Kubliņa, A., Kokorīte, I., Putna, I., & Suzdalev, S. (2023). Recommendations for wastewater treatment plants for safe removal of pharmaceuticals and list of pharmaceuticals to be monitored. Latvijas Vides, ģeoloģijas un meteoroloģijas centrs, 6-56. https://videscentrs.lvgmc.lv/.
  • Mahmoodi, M., & Pishbin, E. (2025). Ozone-based advanced oxidation processes in water treatment: recent advances, challenges, and perspective. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 12(10).
  • Ribeiro, A.R., Nunes, O.C. Pereira, M.F.R., Silva, A.M.T. (2015). An Overview on the Advanced Oxidation Processes Applied for the Treatment of Water Pollutants Defined in the Recently Launched Directive 2013/39/EU. Environ. Int. 75, 33–51, doi:10.1016/j.envint.2014.10.027
  • Sambaza, S. S., & Naicker, N. (2023). Contribution of wastewater to antimicrobial resistance: A review article. Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance, 34, 23-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgar.2023.05.010.
  • Satyam, S., & Patra, S. (2025). The Evolving Landscape of Advanced Oxidation Processes in Urbanc, T. (2022). Primerjava katalitske in nekatalitske ozonacije za odstranjevanje antibiotikov iz odpadnih voda. Master thesis. University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Ljubljana. 00Wastewater Treatment: Challenges and Recent Innovations. Processes, 12(10).
  • Žgajnar Gotvajn, A., & Boševski, I. (2021). Reduction of environmental impact of antibiotic levofloxacin by ozonation of wastewater and sludge. CRETE 2021: 7th International Conference on Industrial & Hazardous Waste Management, 27th - 30th July 2021, Chania, Crete, Greece.
  • Žgajnar Gotvajn, A., Boševski, I. & Čehovin, M. (2023). Napredni oksidacijski in hibridni procesi v postopkih čiščenja odpadnih vod. 1. izd. Ljubljana: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, 1-65 (In Slovene).

© 2023 Faculty of Occupational Safety - Multimedia