Paracetamol biodegradation by activated sludge and photocatalysis and its removal by a micelle–clay complex, activated charcoal, and reverse osmosis membranes

Abstract

Kinetic studies on the stability of the pain killer paracetamol in Al-Quds activated sludge demonstrated that paracetamol underwent biodegradation within less than one month to furnish p-aminophenol in high yields. Characterizations of bacteria contained in Al-Quds sludge were accomplished. It was found that Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the bacterium most responsible for the biodegradation of paracetamol to p-aminophenol and hydroquinone. Batch adsorptions of paracetamol and its biodegradation product (p-aminophenol) by activated charcoal and a composite micelle (octadecyltrimethylammonium)-clay (montmorillonite) were determined at 25°C. Adsorption was adequately described by a Langmuir isotherm, and indicated better efficiency of removal by the micelle-clay complex. The ability of bench top reverse osmosis (RO) plant as well as advanced membrane pilot plant to remove paracetamol was also studied at different water matrixes to test the effect of organic matter composition. The results showed that at least 90% rejection was obtained by both plants. In addition, removal of paracetamol from RO brine was investigated by using photocatalytic processes; optimal conditions were found to be acidic or basic pH, in which paracetamol degraded in less than 5 min. Toxicity studies indicated that the effluent and brine were not toxic except for using extra low energy membrane which displayed a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC-50) value of 80%.

Putative Role of Flavobacterium, Dokdonella and Methylophilus Strains in Paracetamol Biodegradation

“…For example, concentrations up to 180 mg/L have been reported in WWTP influents while in the effluents the concentrations reported were up to 0.305 mg/L in systems with aerobic tanks and up to 13 mg/L in wetlands (e.g. Roberts and Thomas, 2006;Papageorgiou et al 2016;Vymazal et al 2017 Although paracetamol stability decreases in acidic or alkaline conditions due to be slowly degraded via a base-or acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of the amide bond into acetic acid and 4-aminophenol, stability studies in purified water at room temperature demonstrated that after incubation for more than one month this drug was completely stable due to the high energy needed to overcome the barrier for the cleavage of its amide bond (Karaman et al 2016). In addition, being 4-aminophenol a photo and thermal sensitive compound, like other aromatic amines, the results obtained by Khan et al (2006) showed the occurrence of its autoxidation after 7 days but at low rates: 0.8%, 26.6%, 20% and 13% at 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg/L, respectively.…”

“…Then Zhang et al (2013) have isolated from these microbial aggregates three bacterial strains of the genera Stenotrophomonas and Pseudomonas capable of using paracetamol as their sole carbon, nitrogen and energy sources and proposed metabolic pathways for the degradation of this drug, with 4-aminophenol and hydroquinone as first metabolic products. More recently, Karaman et al (2016) demonstrated that paracetamol in activated sludge underwent biodegradation within less than one month and reported that P. aeruginosa was the responsible for the biodegradation of paracetamol to 4-aminophenol and hydroquinone. It is worth to note that the identification of bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas is common in these various works.…”

Water Purification by a Micelle-Clay Composite Alone and its Collaboration with other Technologies

“…The WWTP in the Campus of the University Al-Quds includes a sequence of treatment elements, 2 UF membranes, a GAC filter and a RO membrane. It was suggested in several publications, e.g., Karaman, et al that it would be beneficial to add a filter based on granulated micelle-clay complex before the UF element denoted SW (20 kD cut off) and another one before the RO, in order to reduce membrane fouling in these two elements, thus save on the needed energy The rationale was that the micelle-clay filter is efficient in removal of bacteria, which are a main cause of membrane fouling by sorption and a formation of a biofilm [2]. The study of Brienza, et al also demonstrated that a GAC filter placed before the micelleclay filter removed a great deal of the dissolved organic material, thus making the micelle-clay filter more efficient in removing bacteria from the water entering the RO membrane [37].…”

“…In the simplest cases the authorities of health regulate the addition of disinfectants, which have been shown to cause health problems due to by products, which have to be monitored, and in certain cases have to be partially removed [1]. With the appearance of harmful residues of pharmaceuticals and pesticides, it has become clear that one method, or procedure is rarely sufficient, and a collaboration of procedures is clearly essential, both in terms of water quality, and costs [2]. In this mini review we present a few examples of collaborations involving the micelle-clay complex, which has been shown to be powerful in removal of microorganisms and chemicals, but recalcitrant molecules have been encountered.…”

The Degradation of Pharmaceutical Pollutants in Wastewater Catalyzed by Chloroperoxidase and the Construction of Chloroperoxidase H105R Mutant

“…Immobilization of CPO will be one tendency of CPO application, a research will be 16 done to introduce CPO to the large scale application. [47,48] Bioremediation catalyzed by CPO is a potential treatment as a consequence of its environmental friendliness and low cost investment. The efficiency of APAP degradation catalyzed by CPO would be investigated, the metabolites and pathway would be proposed in this experiment.…”