Abstract
Achromobacter denitrificans PR1 has previously shown potential to degrade the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, whereby sulfamethoxazole biotransformation was stimulated in the presence of biogenic substrates. This study examined the biotransformation kinetics of sulfamethoxazole and its two main conjugates, N4-acetyl-SMX and SMX-N1-Glucuronide, by activated sludge and activated sludge bioaugmented with A. denitrificans PR1. SMX biotransformation under both anoxic and aerobic conditions was tested, with and without the addition of acetate as growth substrate, to understand the range of applicable conditions for bioaugmentation purposes. Biological process models, such as the pseudo-first order kinetic and cometabolic models, were also applied and, following the estimation of kinetic parameters, could well describe data measured in bioaugmented and non-bioaugmented AS batch experiments under various test conditions. Experimental and modelling results suggest that (i) retransformation of the two conjugates to SMX in AS occurred under both aerobic and anoxic conditions, and (ii) biotransformation kinetics of SMX can vary significantly depending on redox conditions, e.g., SMX was biotransformed by AS only under aerobic conditions. Notably, SMX biotransformation was significantly enhanced when PR1 was bioaugmented in AS. Addition of acetate as biogenic substrate is not necessary, as PR1 was capable of enhancing the SMX biotransformation by using the carbon sources present in wastewater. Overall, bioaugmentation by means of A. denitrificans PR1 could be a viable strategy for enhancing SMX removal in AS wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 79-89 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Chemical Engineering Journal |
Volume | 352 |
Early online date | 2 Jul 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 15 Nov 2018 |
Funding
This research was supported by MERMAID, an Initial Training Network funded by the People Programme (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013/under REA grant agreement n°607492, and by UCIBIO (FCT/MEC UID/Multi/04378/2013, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007728). P.Y. Nguyen wishes to acknowledge and thank EPAL Water Laboratory for allowing her to perform all the analyses with LC-MS/MS. Appendix A
Keywords
- Antibiotics
- Cometabolism
- Modelling
- N-acetyl-SMX
- Retransformation
- SMX-N-Glucuronide
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- Environmental Chemistry
- General Chemical Engineering
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
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Benedek Plosz
- Department of Chemical Engineering - Reader
- EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security
- Centre for Climate Adaptation & Environment Research (CAER)
- Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems (SES)
Person: Research & Teaching, Core staff, Affiliate staff