Biodegradation of endocrine disrupters: case of 17beta-estradiol and bisphenol A

The biodegradation of 17 beta-estradiol (E2) and bisphenol A (BPA) was compared to that of a reference pollutant, sodium benzoate (SB), known for its high biodegradability. The biodegradation was measured using the Sturm test (ISO 9439 modified Sturm test). The susceptibility of the target pollutants to be degraded by microorganisms of activated sludge from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was evaluated by the production of carbon dioxide (CO2). Sorption experiments onto inactivated sludge were carried out to assess the contribution of sorption in E2 and BPA removal during biological treatment in a WWTP. E2 was more adsorbed than BPA onto inactivated sludge, probably making it less accessible to assimilation by microorganisms. In fact, E2 was less biodegradable than BPA with 66% and 74% of theoretical CO2 formation (Th(co2)) in 28 days, respectively. However, E2 showed faster biodegradation than BPA due to the shorter adaptation time of the microorganisms to start the assimilation. Final concentrations were measured and revealed that, under Sturm test conditions, E2 was totally removed from the aqueous phase while some traces of BPA were detected. This result could be explained by the lower adsorbability of BPA observed in adsorption experiments onto inactivated sludge. To investigate competition in a bi-component solution, Sturm tests were carried out with BPA/SB and E2/SB. Moreover, the biodegradation curves obtained did not indicate a toxicity of the target compounds towards microorganisms, which rapidly degraded SB. In the case of BPA/SB, an inflection in the curve confirmed the adaptation time of 4-5 days for BPA to be degraded.