The following messages can be taken from the experimental results of this study: • Sucralose was significantly more difficult to remove than other compounds. • In high quality waters (high UV-T) UV-H2O2 followed by GAC biofiltration was highly effective at removing all compounds tested. • In wastewaters with low UV-T (55%) the most promising treatment was the radical oxidation generated by the ozone-H2O2 process. Ozone alone (although, in this wastewater matrix, it is likely that both the direct and indirect ozone pathways were occurring) performed well for norfloxacin and 17β-estradiol with less removal of sucralose. The low UV-T in the wastewater effluent rendered UV alone and UV-H2O2 far less effective. • In general, AOPs were very promising in the treatment of emerging micropollutants. • Experimental variability must be considered when drawing meaningful conclusions especially at low concentrations in complex matrices. The experiments reported in this study ranged from seven to 21%.
