Abstract:
The concept of emerging contaminants (ECs) was first proposed by foreign researchers in 2001 and has become a hot topic in the environmental and municipal fields worldwide. Drinking water is an important route of human exposure to ECs. Hence, evaluating the performance of water treatment processes in drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) for reducing ECs is of great importance. This paper reviewed the occurrence of typical ECs that are of concern in the water supply field, including new disinfection by-products (DBPs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). We found that ECs were widely present in China's aquatic environment, source water, and tap water at different concentrations and some regions were at high risk of contamination. This paper also summarized the efficiencies and mechanisms of EC removal in the process of pre-treatment (pre-ozonation and bio-aeration filter), conventional treatment (coagulation, sedimentation, sand filtration, and disinfection), and advanced treatment (ozonation, activated carbon, and membrane filtration) in DWTP. The result showed that the conventional treatment processes in DWTP had very limited capacity to remove ECs. In summary, this paper provides a reference for the water industry to implement the action plan for controlling ECs, which helps control the risk of ECs in drinking water and guarantee the safety of drinking water.