Perfluorobutanoic acid altered bacterial and eukaryotic community structures and microbial interactions in...

As a novel wastewater treatment technology, algal-bacterial granular sludge (ABGS) technology has not yet been adequately studied with respect to emerging contaminants such as perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA). In this study, a 120-day experiment was conducted to investigate the responses of the ABGS system to gradually increasing PFBA concentrations in the influent. 0.1 and 1 mg/L PFBA modulated the nitrogen and phosphorus removal performance of ABGS, with the average TP removal efficiency increasing by 6.80% in Phase C. But 10 mg/L PFBA led to a decline in system performance. PFBA could be partially removed in the ABGS system through adsorption. The average particle size of sludge decreased from 2.19 mm to 1.72 mm, and sludge activity was reduced, while its settleability remained excellent. The secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) increased from 11.97 mg/g MLVSS to 19.47 mg/g MLVSS in response to PFBA exposure. The addition of PFBA altered the distribution and composition of bacterial and eukaryotic communities. Stochastic processes dominated both bacterial and eukaryotic communities. The bacterial community appeared to show a tendency toward generalist strategies, whereas eukaryotes tended toward slight specialization. Molecular ecological network analysis revealed that the proportion of Bacteria-Eukaryote links increased under PFBA stress. For instance, Chloroplastida maintained an association with Pseudomonadota. These findings provide new insights into the treatment of wastewater containing PFBA.