micropollutants

Grey water footprint of malting barley production

Agriculture is the world’s main freshwater consumer; it also contributes to its contamination through fertilizers and pesticides. This article focuses on the grey water footprint (GWF) as an environmental indicator assessing the impact of agricultural production on water resources. The study analyses the GWF of malting barley production on an area of 9,674 ha in different regions of the Czech Republic. Special empha-sis is placed on including pesticides in the GWF calculation, as their impact on freshwater ecosystems and human health may exceed the impact of fertilizers. The analysis shows that insecticides have the highest GWF, especially deltamethrin, whose GWF is an order of magnitude higher than that of other agrochemicals. The study highlights the importance of including pesticides in future GWF assess-ments to better assess the environmental impacts of agricultural production and optimize sustainable water resource management strategies. At the same time, the study discusses different approaches to including biologically active substances in grey water footprint models.

Comparison of the Grey Water Footprint of Conventional Pollution and Micropollutants: A Case Study of the Bandung WWTP (Indonesia)

Grey water footprint refers to the amount of water required to dilute pollutants released into the aquatic environment so that the water quality remains above agreed water quality standards. This study examines the grey water footprint of micropollutants, also referred to as contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), compared to commonly monitored water parameters (such as nutrients and organic pollution) in wastewater. 24-hour samples were analysed from Indonesia’s largest WWTP, which uses a stabilization pond system for wastewater treatment. The grey water footprint was calculated for 12 micropollutants and six parameters of standard chemical monitoring. The highest value of the grey water footprint in the WWTP effluent was for BOD5 (13.5 l/l). The highest value among the micropollutants in the WWTP effluent was for Fluoxetine (0.08 l/l). When using other published PNEC values, Fluoxetine reached higher grey water footprint values than BOD5. The highest value of the grey water footprint in the WWTP influent was for Ibuprofen (210.4 l/l), but this substance was effectively removed in the WWTP.

A review article of Rapid Small-Scale Column Tests

Rychlotesty v malých kolonkách (Rapid Small­‑Scale Column Tests – RSSCTs) jsou testy, které lze použít pro snadné laboratorní ověření účinnosti adsorpce mikropolutantů na vybraný adsorbent. Volba adsorbentu je nejdůležitějším aspektem při zařazení technologie adsorpce do provozu úpravny vod nebo čistírny odpadních vod (ČOV). Testy probíhají ve zmenšeném měřítku, což minimalizuje náklady na materiál i vlastní realizaci testů. Článek se zaměřuje na adsorpci na granulovaném aktivním uhlí (GAU), jelikož je to nejčastěji používaný typ adsorbentu.