Inopsys • micropollutant removal

An invisible but growing challenge

Micropollutants are trace contaminants that can have a disproportionately high impact on our environment and health, often at very low concentrations. These substances include pharmaceutical residues, pesticides, industrial chemicals, PFAS, personal-care product ingredients, and countless other emerging compounds.

They enter our water systems through a variety of pathways: industrial production and processing, agricultural runoff, domestic wastewater, and even the everyday use of consumer products. While their concentrations are small, their persistence, toxicity, mobility and potential for bioaccumulation make them a growing concern worldwide.

As scientific understanding increases, regulations in Europe and globally are evolving rapidly. Governments are continuously tightening water-quality standards and requiring the effective removal of micropollutants to protect aquatic ecosystems, ensure safe drinking water, and enhance the sustainability of industrial water use. This regulatory momentum makes advanced treatment not only an environmental responsibility, but a legal necessity.

we're able to remove

Endocrine disruptors

chemical substances that interfere with normal hormonal activity in living organisms. Examples include bisphenol A (BPA) commonly used in plastics, phthalates found in everyday care products, certain pesticides such as atrazine, flame retardants like PBDEs, and residues of synthetic hormones from pharmaceuticals.

AOX

organohalogens, including chlorinated, brominated, and fluorinated compounds. They are formed during chlorine-based pulp bleaching in paper production, but can also originate from chlorinated solvents, certain disinfectants, brominated flame retardants, and fluorinated chemicals used in coatings and cleaning agents.

SVHC

SVHC or Substances of Very High Concern refer to micropollutants and emerging contaminants in general that pose serious risks due to their persistence, toxicity, mobility, and ability to accumulate in the environment. Examples include dioxins & dioxin-like compounds, PAHs (from combustion processes), tributyltin (TBT) used in antifouling paints, DEHP and other plasticizers, HBCDD flame retardants, benzotriazoles used as corrosion inhibitors, and perchlorates found in propellants and disinfectants. New components are frequently added to ECHA's Candidate List of SVHC.

PFAS

substances known as “forever chemicals” due to their strong carbon-fluor backbone. Short-chain such as PFBA, PFBS, PFHxA, PFHxS, and ultra-short variants like TFA (trifluoroacetic acid) and PFPrA are ubiquitous in water sources, leading to increasingly stringent regulations. These compounds are widely used in non-stick cookware coatings, textiles, food-contact materials, firefighting foams, and industrial process chemicals.

Persistent agrochemicals

these chemicals play an essential role in protecting crops from weeds, insects, and diseases. Yet several compounds used over the past decades, such as DDT, are highly persistent and spread easily in the environment. Other examples include organochlorine pesticides like lindane, herbicides such as atrazine, fungicidal components like 1,2,4-triazoles, and chlorothalonil derivatives.

At Inopsys, we combine technical expertise with up-to-date regulatory knowledge to design treatment solutions for each client.

By selecting the optimal combination of advanced technologies, we develop and implement mobile treatment units directly at the partner’s production site, fully aligned with the specific composition of the industrial sidestream and the evolving regulatory requirements.

Our team thrives on complex environmental and engineering challenges. With our focus on circular and sustainable water treatment, we help clients stay ahead of regulatory changes.

A zero pollution world... ?

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