Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Isolation and Screening from Soil Biodiversity for Fungi Involved in the Degradation of Recalcitrant Materials
Published on: May 16, 2022
Biodegradation of nonylphenol polyethoxylates under Fe(III)-reducing conditions
Jian Lu1, Qiang Jin, Yiliang He
1School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China.
Abstract:
Biodegradation behavior of nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPEOs) under Fe(III)-reducing conditions was investigated. The study demonstrated that NPEOs could be rapidly biodegraded under Fe(III)-reducing conditions. Almost 60% of the total NPEOs were removed within three days and the maximum biodegradation rate was 34.95+/-0.84 microM d(-1). NPEOs were degraded via sequential removal of ether units under Fe(III)-reducing conditions. No nonylphenol polyethoxy-carboxylates (NPECs) were formed in this process. This ether removal process was coupled to Fe(III) reduction. Nonylphenol (NP), nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO), and nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP2EO) slightly accumulated in the anaerobic biodegradation process. The accumulation of these estrogenic metabolites led to a significant increase in the estrogenic activity during the biodegradation period. The calculated estrogenic activity reached its top on day 14 when the total concentration of these estrogenic metabolites was maximal. This is the first report of the primary biodegradation behavior of NPEOs under Fe(III)-reducing conditions. These findings are of major environmental importance in terms of the environmental behavior of NPEO contaminants in natural environment.
More Related Videos
08:30A Complete Method for Evaluating the Performance of Photocatalysts for the Degradation of Antibiotics in Environmental Remediation
Published on: October 6, 2022
05:46Identification of Pharmaceuticals in The Aquatic Environment Using HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS and Elimination of Erythromycin Through Photo-Induced Degradation
Published on: August 1, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Bioremediation of Pesticides
Microbial Bioremediation of Plastics
Microbial Bioremediation of Uranium
Oxidation of Phenols to Quinones
o-hydroxy phenols are oxidized to o-quinones and p-hydroxy phenols to p-quinones. Such redox reactions involve the transfer of two electrons and two protons. The reversible redox property is crucial in...
Microbial Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons