Evaluating removal efficiency in wastewater treatment plants using non-target screening analysis
García-Martínez, Josep LU ; Akasoglou, Ilias ; Golovko, Oksana ; Frey, Manfred ; Henser, Christina ; Spégel, Peter LU and Krais, Annette M. LU
(2025)
In Journal of Environmental Management
395.
- Abstract
Micropollutants in wastewater can persist through conventional treatment, threatening ecosystems and human health through toxicity, bioaccumulation, and disruption of biological processes. Limited monitoring, due to cost and methodological challenges, allows these compounds to go undetected, potentially leading to long-term, irreversible impacts. To address this, modern wastewater treatment plants use advanced treatment techniques, such as ozonation and activated carbon filtration. The chemical complexity of wastewater influents makes conventional targeted analysis inadequate for assessing removal efficiency. Non-target screening offers a promising alternative by providing a more comprehensive monitoring approach. In this study, we... (More)
Micropollutants in wastewater can persist through conventional treatment, threatening ecosystems and human health through toxicity, bioaccumulation, and disruption of biological processes. Limited monitoring, due to cost and methodological challenges, allows these compounds to go undetected, potentially leading to long-term, irreversible impacts. To address this, modern wastewater treatment plants use advanced treatment techniques, such as ozonation and activated carbon filtration. The chemical complexity of wastewater influents makes conventional targeted analysis inadequate for assessing removal efficiency. Non-target screening offers a promising alternative by providing a more comprehensive monitoring approach. In this study, we demonstrate the applicability of non-target screening for evaluating pollutant removal, confirming the results with targeted analysis. Our findings reveal that treatment performance across wastewater treatment plants cannot be directly compared, due to vast variation in the chemical composition of the influent. This highlights the need for holistic analytical approaches to better evaluate wastewater treatment processes, providing accurate data to guide and support decision-making.
(Less)
- author
- García-Martínez, Josep
LU
; Akasoglou, Ilias
; Golovko, Oksana
; Frey, Manfred
; Henser, Christina
; Spégel, Peter
LU
and Krais, Annette M.
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-11
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Advanced water treatment, Non-target analysis, Removal efficiency, Suspect screening, Wastewater treatment
- in
- Journal of Environmental Management
- volume
- 395
- article number
- 127820
- pages
- 5 pages
- publisher
- Academic Press
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:41177042
- scopus:105020260668
- ISSN
- 0301-4797
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127820
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors
- id
- 0ca444b3-3a38-4a4c-992f-60f135c430dc
- date added to LUP
- 2025-12-02 15:40:55
- date last changed
- 2025-12-16 17:22:30
@article{0ca444b3-3a38-4a4c-992f-60f135c430dc,
abstract = {{<p>Micropollutants in wastewater can persist through conventional treatment, threatening ecosystems and human health through toxicity, bioaccumulation, and disruption of biological processes. Limited monitoring, due to cost and methodological challenges, allows these compounds to go undetected, potentially leading to long-term, irreversible impacts. To address this, modern wastewater treatment plants use advanced treatment techniques, such as ozonation and activated carbon filtration. The chemical complexity of wastewater influents makes conventional targeted analysis inadequate for assessing removal efficiency. Non-target screening offers a promising alternative by providing a more comprehensive monitoring approach. In this study, we demonstrate the applicability of non-target screening for evaluating pollutant removal, confirming the results with targeted analysis. Our findings reveal that treatment performance across wastewater treatment plants cannot be directly compared, due to vast variation in the chemical composition of the influent. This highlights the need for holistic analytical approaches to better evaluate wastewater treatment processes, providing accurate data to guide and support decision-making.</p>}},
author = {{García-Martínez, Josep and Akasoglou, Ilias and Golovko, Oksana and Frey, Manfred and Henser, Christina and Spégel, Peter and Krais, Annette M.}},
issn = {{0301-4797}},
keywords = {{Advanced water treatment; Non-target analysis; Removal efficiency; Suspect screening; Wastewater treatment}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Academic Press}},
series = {{Journal of Environmental Management}},
title = {{Evaluating removal efficiency in wastewater treatment plants using non-target screening analysis}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127820}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127820}},
volume = {{395}},
year = {{2025}},
}