From Laboratory Tests to the Ecoremedial System: The Importance of Microorganisms in the Recovery of PPCPs-Disturbed Ecosystems

Abstract

The presence of a wide variety of emerging pollutants in natural water resources is an important global water quality challenge. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are known as emerging contaminants, widely used by modern society. This objective ensures availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, according to the 2030 Agenda. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) do not always mitigate the presence of these emerging contaminants in effluents discharged into the environment, although the removal efficiency of WWTP varies based on the techniques used. This main subject is framed within a broader environmental paradigm, such as the transition to a circular economy. The research and innovation within the WWTP will play a key role in improving the water resource management and its surrounding industrial and natural ecosystems. Even though bioremediation is a green technology, its integration into the bio-economy strategy, which improves the quality of the environment, is surprisingly rare if we compare to other corrective techniques (physical and chemical). This work carries out a bibliographic review, since the beginning of the 21st century, on the biological remediation of some PPCPs, focusing on organisms (or their by-products) used at the scale of laboratory or scale-up. PPCPs have been selected on the basics of their occurrence in water resources. The data reveal that, despite the advantages that are associated with bioremediation, it is not the first option in the case of the recovery of systems contaminated with PPCPs. The results also show that fungi and bacteria are the most frequently studied microorganisms, with the latter being more easily implanted in complex biotechnological systems (78% of bacterial manuscripts vs. 40% fungi). A total of 52 works has been published while using microalgae and only in 7% of them, these organisms were used on a large scale. Special emphasis is made on the advantages that are provided by biotechnological systems in series, as well as on the need for eco-toxicological control that is associated with any process of recovery of contaminated systems.

Bacterial Diversity in Old Hydrocarbon Polluted Sediments of Ecuadorian Amazon River Basins

“…For example, the development of floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) significantly reduces water pollution as a consequence of the joint action of plant roots, endophytes, and biofilms associated with aquatic roots. This synergistic action is responsible for the adsorption, nitrification, denitrification, and degradation of organic compounds [ 91 , 92 ]. Adventurous and innovative chemical engineering techniques have been proposed, including the use of a novel Ca-Ag3PO4 capable of degrading phenanthrene with high efficiency [ 93 ].…”

Circular Bio-economy—Paradigm for the Future: Systematic Review of Scientific Journal Publications from 2015 to 2021

“…The take-make-use-dispose paradigm of a linear economy will hopefully be replaced by the grow-make-use-restore alternative as extensively and as soon as possible [198], as technical constraints are gradually resolved and the challenges to the upscaling of biowaste valorisation are surmounted [378]. [232, 233] [ 22, 54, 90, 139, 175-181, 184, 185, 190, 192, 193, 196, 198, 244-251] (Bio)chemicals and (bio)polymers [240] [ 142-144, 252] [130, 151, 202] [154, 156, 206, 232, 233, 253, 254] [ 22,75,90,173,176,178,180,181,184,185,196,212,213,239,248,251,[255][256][257][258] Food and pharmaceuticals [142][143][144] [ 160, 232, 233,…”

“…While forestry wastes can be effective aids in the adsorption of oil spills and heavy metals from wastewater and aquatic ecosystems [24], inexpensive bioremediation of wastewater and the pedosphere with bacteria, fungi, yeast, algae and plants to remove pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) has been propounded as an essential ingredient of a bioeconomy [248,249]. Activated carbon produced from yeast residues [139] and nanoporous carbon from mango wastes [192] have been shown to remove compounds like dipyrone and atrazine respectively from synthetic aqueous effluents.…”

“…The microalgae and the macro-phytoremediation agents subsequently can be used as sources of bio-energy (where there is a bioaccumulation of the PPCPs) or as food/feed and biofertiliser where the PPCP has been degraded/metabolised after bio-absorption. The microalgal ponds used to treat wastewater also build up a wonderfully symbiotic relationship between aerobic bacteria utilising oxygen produced by the photoautotrophic microalgae (which can also be looked upon as CO 2 -sequestering agents in a circular bio-economy), to degrade the organics in the wastewater and improve the effluent water quality, while providing nutrient-rich algal biomass for valorisation downstream [193,232,238,248,250,280]. Focusing on a specific type of microalgal biomass in their study-Arthrospira spp.…”

Removal of Pharmaceuticals from Water by Adsorption and Advanced Oxidation Processes: State of the Art and Trends

“…Bacteria occupy a dominant place in the biosphere; through their various metabolic capabilities, they support the metabolic cycles that are fundamental to all life on Earth [59]. Researchers are investigating the potential of different bacteria to degrade pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) into eco-friendly monomers, which could be an alternative emerging way to eliminate pharmaceutical residues from the ecosystem [60]. Mainly related to the bacterial populations concerned, technologies that use sludge (aerobic, activated, or granular) have been highly efficient in the treatment of municipal wastewater [61].…”