Data of "Removal rate constants of organic micropollutants in activated sludge wastewater treatment plants are dependent on influent concentrations"

This data is part of a study that systematically explored whether OMP concentration affects removal rate constants, while correcting for environmental conditions and physicochemical properties. The aim of this study was to identify the influence of OMP influent concentration on the removal of OMPs in activated sludge WWTPs. To that end, we related removal rate constants of 58 OMPs obtained from 14 WWTPs to the OMP influent concentrations by applying a linear mixed effect modelling approach, also accounting for WWTP characteristics as well as physicochemical OMP properties. Our results showed that influent OMP concentration was indeed the most important explanatory variable for removal rate constants in our model and that the relationship between removal rate constant and concentration varied between OMPs. For most OMPs, the relationship was positive, except for valsartan and 2-hydroxyibuprofen. This is likely explained by toxic effects. Our results highlight the relevance of considering influent concentration in OMP fate predictions and may help in optimizing OMP removal strategies, for example by concentrating wastewater streams.