This project will investigate the removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) by biofilm processes, particularly those used in wastewater reuse, e.g., biological filtration, riverbank filtration, and soil aquifer treatment. This research will test the hypothesis that biofiltration is an effective treatment option for removing selected PPCPs from wastewater streams undergoing reclamation through soil passage and ground water recharge. This will be accomplished by investigating the transformation and removal of a variety of PPCPs in small columns intended to simulate riverbank filtration. These compounds can have ecological impacts, even at the concentration levels found in treated sewage effluents, and the results of this work could improve our understanding of their fate under scenarios of groundwater recharge and bank filtration, as well as direct treatment in biofilm reactors. Given the increasing use of PPCPs and their detection in many streams across the country, the proposal is timely and the results could have important public health consequences.
