The Occurrence and Bioremediation of Emerging Polyfluorinated Compounds in Water Bodies: A Mini Review

Abstract

The occurrence and fate of polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the aquatic environment resulting from anthropogenic activities has become an emerging issue of environmental chemistry. PFCs have been detected in drinking water samples, aquatic life, human tissue, and blood serum. This is attributed to their xenobiotic attributes making them environmentally persistent, bio-accumulative, and globally distributed in water receiving bodies, posing serious health problems to aquatic life and human health. This is ascribed to PFCs’ peculiar physicochemical properties of being hydrophobic and oleophobic and their removal process from wastewater streams is different from any other organic pollutants. Therefore, this review summarizes the environmental occurrence and recent developments on microbial degradation of the most detected PFCs, i.e., perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in water bodies. The available literature suggests that PFOA and PFOS are susceptible to biodegradation by Acidimicrobium sp. strain A6, Pseudomonas parafulva strain YAB1, Pseudomonas plecoglossicidia 2.4-D, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain HJ4. Moreover, the current study presents a summary on phytoremediation of PFOA and PFOS as a sustainable green technology. Despite the extensive work undertaken on bioremediation of PFOA and PFOS by biological processes, the available literature suggests that a lot of work still needs to be carried out aimed at investigating the biodegradation pathway of PFOA and PFOS by both microbial species and plants.

Contaminantes orgánicos persistentes: Impactos y medidas de control

“…Una alternativa prometedora para la descontaminación radica en la susceptibilidad de estos compuestos a la biodegradación por microorganismos como Acidimicrobium sp. cepa A6, cepa YAB1 de Pseudomonas parafulva, cepa HJ4 de Pseudomonas plecoglossicidia 2.4-D y cepa HJ4 de Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Khumalo et al, 2022). Los tratamientos avanzados abarcan diversas tecnologías para mejorar la calidad de los efluentes de destilería posmetanado.…”

Sequestration of steroidal estrogen in aqueous samples using an adsorption mechanism: a systemic scientometric review

“…“Endocrine disrupting chemicals according to the definition by the World Health Organization (WHO) are chemicals that interfere with the normal function of humans and wildlife endocrine system by blocking or mimicking the way hormones control metabolism, growth, and body function”. EDCs include polyfluorinated alkyl, 5,6 pharmaceuticals, 7–10 steroid estrogens, 2,11 pesticides, 12 and personal care products. 13,14…”

Influence of PFDA on the nutrient removal from wastewater by hydrogels containing microalgae-bacteria

“…As it can be seen in Table S1 , as PFAS chain increases, melting and boiling points also increase, and then, the potential degradation of PFAS can also require a greater amount of energy. In fact, the energy required to break down the C–F bond is < 544 kJ/mol [ 15 ], which is high and provides to PFAS high resistance to chemical and biological degradation during any technology applied for water or wastewater treatment [ 16 , 17 ].…”

“…Actually, F − induces toxicity to bacteria at levels of 0.1–1.9 mg/L by inhibiting and interfering metabolic activities [ 26 ]. Not only F − represents a risk, PFAS themselves are xenobiotic substances that limit bacterial performance under aerobic conditions [ 27 ], and have presented microbial selectivity in soil microorganisms during chronic exposure (60 days) at μg-level [ 28 ].…”