Removal of steroid estrogens in carbonaceous and nitrifying activated sludge processes

McAdam, Ewan J.; Bagnall, John; Koh, Y.K.K.; Chiu, T.Y.; Pollard, Simon J. T.; Scrimshaw, Mark D.; Lester, J.N.; Cartmell, Elise

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.07.057

Cited by 51 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…This is in agreement with the findings of other research where loadings of c. 0.05-0.5 mg EDC m −3 d −1 [26] were applied. In this study porous pot loadings ranged from c. 0.04 to 2.8 EDC m −3 d −1 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…The co-metabolic activity of ammonia oxidising bacteria has been postulated to fortuitously oxidise steroid estrogens [28]. However, the heterotrophic bacteria constituent of nitrifying activated sludge cannot be ignored [26,32]. Indeed, an average total estrogen removal of >51% has been recently observed for carbonaceous activated sludge [26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…However, the heterotrophic bacteria constituent of nitrifying activated sludge cannot be ignored [26,32]. Indeed, an average total estrogen removal of >51% has been recently observed for carbonaceous activated sludge [26]. Therefore, heterotrophic bacteria are important for the removal of EDCs during biological wastewater treatment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, optimisation of treatment parameters for the removal of EDCs within the current infrastructure would clearly be more sustainable than the use of tertiary treatment technologies such as granular activated carbon (GAC) and advanced oxidation processes [22]. The most important removal mechanism for EDCs during wastewater treatment is thought to be biodegradation [23], typically ranging from 60-95% for total estrogens [24][25][26]. The highest removal efficiencies appear to be achieved with increased solids retention time (SRT) with Clara et al [27] proposing that higher SRTs allowed the establishment of a more diverse bacterial community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Resource dependent biodegradation of estrogens and the role of ammonia oxidising and heterotrophic bacteria

Bagnall¹,

Ito²,

McAdam³

et al. 2012

Journal of Hazardous Materials

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Resource dependent biodegradation of estrogens and the role of ammonia oxidising and heterotrophic bacteria

Bagnall¹,

Ito²,

McAdam³

et al. 2012

Journal of Hazardous Materials

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“…Sorption and biodegradation are important mechanisms for the removal of estrogens in biological wastewater treatment systems (Xu et al, 2008;McAdam et al, 2010;Gomes et al, 2011;Paterakis et al, 2012). Based on the measured sorption constants, Andersen et al (2005) have predicted that about 50%-75% of estrogens (estrone [E1], E2, and EE2) can be sorbed to the activated sludge in a sewage treatment plant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sludge Retention Time as a Suitable Operational Parameter to Remove Both Estrogen and Nutrients in an Anaerobic–Anoxic–Aerobic Activated Sludge System

Zeng

Yang

2013

Environmental Engineering Science

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Estrogen in wastewater are responsible for a significant part of the endocrine-disrupting effects observed in the aquatic environment. The effect of sludge retention time (SRT) on the removal and fate of 17b-estradiol (E2) and 17a-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in an anaerobic-anoxic-oxic activated sludge system designed for nutrient removal was investigated by laboratory-scale experiments using synthetic wastewater. With a hydraulic retention time of 8 h, when SRT ranged 10-25 days, E2 was almost completely removed from water, and EE2 removal efficiency was 65%-81%. Both estrogens were easily sorbed onto activated sludge. Distribution coefficients (K d ) of estrogens on anaerobic sludge were greater than those on anoxic and aerobic sludges. Mass balance calculation indicated that 99% of influent E2 was degraded by the activated sludge process, and 1% remained in excess sludge; of influent EE2, 62.0%-80.1% was biodegraded; 18.9%-34.7% was released in effluent; and 0.88%-3.31% remained in excess sludge. Optimal SRT was 20 days for both estrogen and nutrient removal. E2 was almost completely degraded, and EE2 was only partly degraded in the activated sludge process. Residual estrogen on excess sludge must be considered in the sludge treatment and disposal processes. The originality of the work is that removal of nutrients and estrogens were linked, and optimal SRT for both estrogen and nutrient removal in an enhanced biological phosphorus removal system was determined. This has an important implication for the design and operation of full-scale wastewater treatment plants.

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A fluorescent, supramolecular chemosensor to follow steroid depletion in bacterial cultures

et al. 2017

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Steroids have been identified as endocrine-disrupting agents, which are thought to impact the fertility of aquatic organisms and may even have direct effects on humans. The removal of steroids from wastewater is therefore essential, and this is most efficiently achieved by microbial treatment. We report herein a simple fluorescent method to identify microorganisms that are capable of steroid degradation and to optimize the conditions for steroid removal. The method is based on the supramolecular macrocycle cucurbit[8]uril (CB8), which can bind either the fluorescent dye berberine or a steroid in their inner cavity. In absence of steroid, the cavity is free to bind the dye, leading to a strong increase in fluorescence. In contrast, in the presence of steroid, the dye is displaced into the bulk solution. This principle affords a stable (no thermal or photodegradation was noted), fluorescent chemosensor (excitation ca. 450 nm, maximum emission at 525 nm), which can detect testosterone at concentrations > 0.7 μM. We show that this displacement principle can be applied to follow the removal of micromolar concentrations of the steroid testosterone from a bacterial culture of Buttiauxella sp. S19-1. The reliability of the chemosensor in screening applications is demonstrated by an excellent Z-factor, which was in the range of 0.52 to 0.74 for all experiments carried out with this assay. Graphical abstract Steroid depletion by bacterial cultures can be followed by fluorescence spectroscopy using a supramolecular chemosensor based on berberine and cucurbit[8]uril.

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Removal of steroid estrogens in carbonaceous and nitrifying activated sludge processes

Cited by 51 publications

References 37 publications

Resource dependent biodegradation of estrogens and the role of ammonia oxidising and heterotrophic bacteria

Resource dependent biodegradation of estrogens and the role of ammonia oxidising and heterotrophic bacteria

Sludge Retention Time as a Suitable Operational Parameter to Remove Both Estrogen and Nutrients in an Anaerobic–Anoxic–Aerobic Activated Sludge System

A fluorescent, supramolecular chemosensor to follow steroid depletion in bacterial cultures

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