Enhanced adsorption behavior of 17β‐estradiol by anaerobic granular sludge combined with zero‐valent iron

Abstract

BACKGROUND The release of natural estrogen 17 β‐estradiol (E2) to the aquatic environment is a matter of concern. Batch experiments were conducted to study the adsorption of E2 by anaerobic granular sludge (AnGS) combined with zero‐valent iron (ZVI). The enhancement mechanism of ZVI for E2 adsorption by AnGS was also analyzed. RESULTS The E2 adsorption efficiency of AnGs with ZVI was 48% higher than that without ZVI. The optimal conditions for high E2 adsorption efficiency (92.21%) and high equilibrium adsorption capacity (4.92 µg g‐1 VSS) were rZVI/AnGS 1.33, pH 6, and temperature 25°C. E2 adsorption by ZVI/AnGS was a spontaneous and exothermic process, well described by the Freundlich isotherm. CONCLUSION The addition of a suitable amount of ZVI enhanced E2 adsorption by AnGS. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry

17 beta-estradiol biodegradation by anaerobic granular sludge: Effect of iron sources

“…Feng et al 26 used ZVI to enhance anaerobic digestion process, and gotten an increase of 43.5% in methane production. ZVI also had enhancement effect on estrogen adsorption removal by AnGS, which was reported by our group 27 . However, the report about the effect of ZVI on estrogens anaerobic biological degradation has not been found.…”

“…Agilent6890N-5973, USA). The aqueous samples were prepared and analyzed according to the method described by Zhao et al 27 . The aqueous samples were first filtered through 0.45 µm glass-fiber membranes and then extracted using Waters Oasis HLB 3cc (60 mg) extraction cartridges.…”

“…Wu et al 35 studied COD biodegradation in a ZVI-based anaerobic system, and pointed that ZVI acted as an electron donor due to produce water-derived H 2 during ZVI corrosion and promoted methanogenesis, which improved organics biodegradation. Zhang et al 27 also concluded that ZVI was easily corroded to release electrons in the biological system and increased micro-battery reaction occurred on biomass surface by rapidly consuming oxidizing substances, and then resulted into a strengthened anaerobic action. Electrons released in ZVI corrosion process enhanced E2 biodegradation by AnGS.…”