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Waste Water Derived Electroactive Microbial Biofilms: Growth, Maintenance, and Basic Characterization
Published on: December 29, 2013
Micropollutant biotransformation kinetics associate with WWTP process parameters and microbial community
Damian E Helbling1, David R Johnson, Mark Honti
1Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland. damian.helbling@eawag.ch
Environmental Science & Technology
|September 4, 2012
Summary
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) show varied micropollutant removal. Ammonia removal and archaeal amoA gene abundance may predict oxidative micropollutant biotransformation, but not always via ammonia monooxygenase activity.
Area of Science:
- Environmental microbiology
- Water chemistry
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Micropollutants pose risks to aquatic ecosystems and human health.
- Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are crucial for removing micropollutants.
- Microbial processes significantly influence micropollutant biotransformation rates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify key WWTP parameters and microbial processes affecting micropollutant biotransformation.
- To correlate micropollutant biotransformation rates with WWTP operational data and microbial indicators.
- To elucidate the role of ammonia oxidation in micropollutant degradation.
Main Methods:
- Batch reactor experiments using activated sludge from ten diverse WWTPs.
- Quantification of biotransformation rate constants for ten organic micropollutants.
- Statistical analysis of rate constants against WWTP parameters, amoA transcript abundance, and enzyme activity.
Main Results:
- Biotransformation rates varied by 1-4 orders of magnitude across WWTPs.
- Ammonia removal correlated with oxidative micropollutant biotransformation rates.
- Archaeal amoA transcript abundance linked to ammonia removal and micropollutant biotransformation, unlike bacterial amoA.
- Acetylene-inhibited monooxygenase activity associated with ammonia removal and isoproturon biotransformation, but not all oxidative micropollutant biotransformations.
Conclusions:
- Ammonia removal and archaeal amoA transcript abundance show potential as predictors for oxidative micropollutant biotransformation.
- The biochemical mechanism of micropollutant biotransformation is not solely dependent on ammonia monooxygenase activity.
- Understanding microbial indicators can optimize WWTP performance for micropollutant removal.
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