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Guo Y, Askari N, Smets I, Appels L. A review on co-metabolic degradation of organic micropollutants during anaerobic digestion: Linkages between functional groups and digestion stages. Water Res 2024; 256:121598. [PMID: 38663209 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
The emerging presence of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in water bodies produced by human activities is a source of growing concern due to their environmental and health issues. Biodegradation is a widely employed treatment method for OMPs in wastewater owing to its high efficiency and low operational cost. Compared to aerobic degradation, anaerobic degradation has numerous advantages, including energy efficiency and superior performance for certain recalcitrant compounds. Nonetheless, the low influent concentrations of OMPs in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and their toxicity make it difficult to support the growth of microorganisms. Therefore, co-metabolism is a promising mechanism for OMP biodegradation in which co-substrates are added as carbon and energy sources and stimulate increased metabolic activity. Functional microorganisms and enzymes exhibit significant variations at each stage of anaerobic digestion affecting the environment for the degradation of OMPs with different structural properties, as these factors substantially influence OMPs' biodegradability and transformation pathways. However, there is a paucity of literature reviews that explicate the correlations between OMPs' chemical structure and specific metabolic conditions. This study provides a comprehensive review of the co-metabolic processes which are favored by each stage of anaerobic digestion and attempts to link various functional groups to their favorable degradation pathways. Furthermore, potential co-metabolic processes and strategies that can enhance co-digestion are also identified, providing directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yutong Guo
- KU Leuven, Department of Chemical Engineering, Chemical and Biochemical Reactor Engineering and Safety (CREaS) Campus De Nayer, Jan Pieter De Nayerlaan 5, Sint-Katelijne-Waver 2860, Belgium
| | - Najmeh Askari
- KU Leuven, Department of Chemical Engineering, Chemical and Biochemical Reactor Engineering and Safety (CREaS) Campus De Nayer, Jan Pieter De Nayerlaan 5, Sint-Katelijne-Waver 2860, Belgium
| | - Ilse Smets
- KU Leuven, Department of Chemical Engineering, Chemical and Biochemical Reactor Engineering and Safety (CREaS), Celestijnenlaan 200F box 2424, Heverlee 3001, Belgium
| | - Lise Appels
- KU Leuven, Department of Chemical Engineering, Chemical and Biochemical Reactor Engineering and Safety (CREaS) Campus De Nayer, Jan Pieter De Nayerlaan 5, Sint-Katelijne-Waver 2860, Belgium.
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2
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Brueck CL, Nason SL, Multra MG, Prasse C. Assessing the fate of antibiotics and agrochemicals during anaerobic digestion of animal manure. Sci Total Environ 2023; 856:159156. [PMID: 36195139 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Antibiotics and pesticides are used extensively by the livestock industry. Agricultural chemicals can pose potential human and environmental health risks due to their toxicity and through their contributions to antimicrobial resistance, and strategies to reduce their emission into the environment are urgently needed. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a sustainable technology for manure management that produces biogas while also providing an opportunity to degrade agricultural chemicals that are present in manure. While the effects of selected chemicals on biogas production have been investigated previously, little is known about chemical transformations during AD. Using lab-scale AD batch reactors containing dairy manure, degradation kinetics and transformation products (TPs) were investigated for twenty compounds that are likely to be present in manure management systems and that we hypothesized would transform during AD. Digestate samples were extracted using a modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) method and analyzed using liquid chromatography - high-resolution mass spectrometry. Eleven of the tested chemicals degraded, leading to the formation of 47 TPs. Three compounds degraded abiotically only, two degraded biotically only, and six degraded both abiotically and biotically. These results suggest that in addition to renewable energy generation, AD contributes to the degradation of chemical contaminants present in agricultural waste streams. However, the potential toxic effects of TPs require further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher L Brueck
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States of America
| | - Sara L Nason
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States of America
| | - Melody G Multra
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States of America
| | - Carsten Prasse
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States of America.
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Xiong Y, Shi Q, Sy ND, Dennis NM, Schlenk D, Gan J. Influence of methylation and demethylation on plant uptake of emerging contaminants. Environ Int 2022; 170:107612. [PMID: 36347118 PMCID: PMC9988749 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 10/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) as well as their transformation products (TPs) are often found in treated wastewater and biosolids, raising concerns about their environmental risks. Small changes in chemical structure, such as the addition or loss of a methyl group, as the result of methylation or demethylation reaction, may significantly alter a chemical's physicochemical properties. In this study, we evaluated the difference in accumulation and translocation between four CECs and their respective methylated or demethylated derivatives in plant models. Suspended Arabidopsis thaliana cell culture and wheat seedlings were cultivated in nutrient solutions containing individual compounds at 1 mg/L. The methylated counterparts were generally more hydrophobic and showed comparative or greater accumulation in both plant models. For example, after 1 h incubation, methylparaben was found in A. thaliana cells at levels two orders of magnitude greater than demethylated methylparaben. In contrast, the demethylated counterparts, especially those with the addition of a hydroxyl group after demethylation, showed decreased plant uptake and limited translocation. For example, acetaminophen and demethylated naproxen were not detected in the shoots of wheat seedlings after hydroponic exposure. Results from this study suggest that common transformations such as methylation and demethylation may affect the environmental fate of CECs, and should be considered to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of risks of CECs in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaxin Xiong
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Qingyang Shi
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Nathan D Sy
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Nicole M Dennis
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Daniel Schlenk
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Jay Gan
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
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Narayanan M, El-Sheekh M, Ma Y, Pugazhendhi A, Natarajan D, Kandasamy G, Raja R, Saravana Kumar RM, Kumarasamy S, Sathiyan G, Geetha R, Paulraj B, Liu G, Kandasamy S. Current status of microbes involved in the degradation of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) pollutants in the aquatic ecosystem. Environ Pollut 2022; 300:118922. [PMID: 35114308 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Contamination of aquatic systems with pharmaceuticals, personal care products, steroid hormones, and agrochemicals has been an immense problem for the earth's ecosystem and health impacts. The environmental issues of well-known persistence pollutants, their metabolites, and other micro-pollutants in diverse aquatic systems around the world were collated and exposed in this review assessment. Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) influents and effluents, as well as industrial, hospital, and residential effluents, include detectable concentrations of known and undiscovered persistence pollutants and metabolites. These components have been found in surface water, groundwater, drinking water, and natural water reservoirs receiving treated and untreated effluents. Several studies have found that these persistence pollutants, and also similar recalcitrant pollutants, are hazardous to a variety of non-targeted creatures in the environment. In human and animals, they can also have severe and persistent harmful consequences. Because these pollutants are harmful to aquatic organisms, microbial degradation of these persistence pollutants had the least efficiency. Fortunately, only a few wild and Genetically Modified (GMOs) microbial species have the ability to degrade these PPCPs contaminants. Hence, researchers have been studying the degradation competence of microbial communities in persistence pollutants of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) and respective metabolites for decades, as well as possible degradation processes in various aquatic systems. As a result, this review provides comprehensive information about environmental issues and the degradation of PPCPs and their metabolites, as well as other micro-pollutants, in aquatic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathiyazhagan Narayanan
- PG and Research Centre in Biotechnology, MGR College, Adhiyamaan Educational and Research Institutions (AERI), Hosur, Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, 635 130, India.
| | - Mostafa El-Sheekh
- Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, 31527, Egypt
| | - Ying Ma
- College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | | | | | - Gajendiran Kandasamy
- Department of Microbiology, MGR College, Adhiyamaan Educational and Research Institutions (AERI), Hosur, Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, 635 130, India
| | - Rathinam Raja
- Central Research Laboratory, Research and Development Wing, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital (SBMCH) - BIHER, Chromepet, Chennai, 600 044, India
| | - R M Saravana Kumar
- Department of Biotechnology, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, 602105, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Suresh Kumarasamy
- PG and Research Centre in Biotechnology, MGR College, Adhiyamaan Educational and Research Institutions (AERI), Hosur, Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, 635 130, India
| | - Govindasamy Sathiyan
- Department of Chemistry, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, 602105, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - R Geetha
- Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, 602105, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Balaji Paulraj
- PG and Research Centre in Biotechnology, MGR College, Adhiyamaan Educational and Research Institutions (AERI), Hosur, Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, 635 130, India
| | - Guanglong Liu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Health and Green Remediation, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Sabariswaran Kandasamy
- Department of Biomass and Energy Conversion, Institute of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai - 602 105, India.
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Matouskova K, Vandenberg LN. Towards a paradigm shift in environmental health decision-making: a case study of oxybenzone. Environ Health 2022; 21:6. [PMID: 34998398 PMCID: PMC8742442 DOI: 10.1186/s12940-021-00806-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Technological advancements make lives safer and more convenient. Unfortunately, many of these advances come with costs to susceptible individuals and public health, the environment, and other species and ecosystems. Synthetic chemicals in consumer products represent a quintessential example of the complexity of both the benefits and burdens of modern living. How we navigate this complexity is a matter of a society's values and corresponding principles. OBJECTIVES We aimed to develop a series of ethical principles to guide decision-making within the landscape of environmental health, and then apply these principles to a specific environmental chemical, oxybenzone. Oxybenzone is a widely used ultraviolet (UV) filter added to personal care products and other consumer goods to prevent UV damage, but potentially poses harm to humans, wildlife, and ecosystems. It provides an excellent example of a chemical that is widely used for the alleged purpose of protecting human health and product safety, but with costs to human health and the environment that are often ignored by stakeholders. DISCUSSION We propose six ethical principles to guide environmental health decision-making: principles of sustainability, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, community, and precautionary substitution. We apply these principles to the case of oxybenzone to demonstrate the complex but imperative decision-making required if we are to address the limits of the biosphere's regenerative rates. We conclude that both ethical and practical considerations should be included in decisions about the commercial, pervasive application of synthetic compounds and that the current flawed practice of cost-benefit analysis be recognized for what it is: a technocratic approach to support corporate interests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Matouskova
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, 171C Goessmann, 686 N. Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003 USA
| | - Laura N. Vandenberg
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, 171C Goessmann, 686 N. Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003 USA
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Gallardo-Altamirano MJ, Maza-Márquez P, Montemurro N, Pérez S, Rodelas B, Osorio F, Pozo C. Insights into the removal of pharmaceutically active compounds from sewage sludge by two-stage mesophilic anaerobic digestion. Sci Total Environ 2021; 789:147869. [PMID: 34051504 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The removal efficiencies (REs) of twenty-seven pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) (eight analgesic/anti-inflammatories, six antibiotics, four β-blockers, two antihypertensives/diuretics, three lipid regulators and four psychiatric drugs) were evaluated in a pilot-scale two-stage mesophilic anaerobic digestion (MAD) system treating thickened sewage sludge from a pilot-scale A2O™ wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) which was fed with wastewater from the pre-treatment of the full-scale WWTP Murcia Este (Murcia, Spain). The MAD system was long-term operated using two different sets of sludge retention times (SRTs) for the acidogenic (AcD) and methanogenic (MD) digesters (phase I, 2 and 12 days; and phase II, 5 and 24 days, in AcD and MD, respectively). Quantitative PCR (qPCR) and Illumina MiSeq sequencing were used to estimate the absolute abundance of Bacteria, Archaea, and Fungi and investigate the structure, diversity and population dynamics of their communities in the AcD and MD effluents. The extension of the SRT from 12 (phase I) to 24 days (phase II) in the MD was significantly linked with an improved removal of carbamazepine, clarithromycin, codeine, gemfibrozil, ibuprofen, lorazepam, and propranolol. The absolute abundances of total Bacteria and Archaea were higher in the MD regardless of the phase, while the diversity of bacterial and archaeal communities was lower in phase II, in both digesters. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) plots showed strong negative correlations among phyla Proteobacteria and Firmicutes and between genera Methanosaeta and Methanosarcina throughout the full experimental period. Strong positive correlations were revealed between the relative abundances of Methanospirillum and Methanoculleus and the methanogenesis performance parameters (volatile solids removal, CH4 recovery rate and %CH4 in the biogas), which were also related to longer SRT. The REs of several PhACs (naproxen, ketoprofen, ofloxacin, fenofibrate, trimethoprim, and atenolol) correlated positively (r > 0.75) with the relative abundances of specific bacterial and archaeal groups, suggesting their participation in biodegradation/biotransformation pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J Gallardo-Altamirano
- Environmental Microbiology Group, Institute of Water Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Department of Civil Engineering, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - P Maza-Márquez
- Environmental Microbiology Group, Institute of Water Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Department of Microbiology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - N Montemurro
- Water, Environmental and Food Chemistry (ENFOCHEM), Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - S Pérez
- Water, Environmental and Food Chemistry (ENFOCHEM), Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - B Rodelas
- Environmental Microbiology Group, Institute of Water Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Department of Microbiology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
| | - F Osorio
- Environmental Microbiology Group, Institute of Water Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Department of Civil Engineering, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - C Pozo
- Environmental Microbiology Group, Institute of Water Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Department of Microbiology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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Huang K, Chao P, Kuo Y, Chi K, Cheng HM, Wu R, Huang T. Response surface methodology-based fabrication of boron-doped diamond electrodes for electrochemical degradation of guaifenesin in aqueous solutions. J Taiwan Inst Chem Eng 2021; 123:124-33. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtice.2021.05.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Abstract
Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are commonly used chemicals that are increasingly detected in urban-impacted environments, particularly those receiving treated wastewater. PPCPs may have toxicological effects on the macrofauna that are exposed through contaminated water; thus, there is interest in microbially mediated transformations that may degrade PPCPs. This review discusses specific examples of PPCP transformations that may occur in anoxic environments, including O-methylation and O-demethylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail W Porter
- Department of Environmental Sciences, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Sarah J Wolfson
- Department of Environmental Sciences, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.,Department of Systems and Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Max Häggblom
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Lily Y Young
- Department of Environmental Sciences, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
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