The research project “SERPIC – Sustainable Electrochemical Reduction of contaminants of emerging concern and Pathogens in WWTP effluent for Irrigation of Crops” has demonstrated successfully that effluent of wastewater treatment plants can be safely used to irrigate crops.

• SERPIC developed an additional treatment technology to reduce the remaining micropollutants in the effluent of wastewater treatment plants.
• 92 % of the micropollutant reduction targets were achieved.
• Nanofiltration proved to be a very efficient separation technique to create a very clean permeate stream.
• UV-assisted oxidation with electrochemically generated persulfate was very successful to degrade the organic micropollutants.
• Disinfection with ozone gas electrochemically generated from water is an energy- and cost-efficient alternative to standard ozonation from air or oxygen.
• Diamond electrodes have shown their unrivalled efficiency in the electrochemical production of the oxidants ozone and persulfate.