Free Nitrous Acid Inhibits Atenolol Removal during the Sidestream Partial Nitritation Process through Regulating Microbial-Induced Metabolic Types

Limited studies have attempted to evaluate pharmaceutical removal during the sidestream partial nitritation (PN) process. In this work, atenolol biodegradation by PN cultures was investigated by maintaining ammonium and pH at different levels. For the first time, free nitrous acid (FNA), other than...

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Published in:Environmental science & technology 2022-08, Vol.56 (16), p.11614-11624
Main Authors: Xu, Yifeng, Wang, Ning, Peng, Lai, Li, Shengjun, Liang, Chuanzhou, Song, Kang, Song, Shaoxian, Zhou, Yan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ammonia
Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria
Ammonium
Atenolol
Biodegradation
Deamination
Metabolism
Microorganisms
Nitrogen
Nitrous acid
Oxidation
pH effects
Pharmaceuticals
Substitution reactions
Treatment and Resource Recovery
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Summary:Limited studies have attempted to evaluate pharmaceutical removal during the sidestream partial nitritation (PN) process. In this work, atenolol biodegradation by PN cultures was investigated by maintaining ammonium and pH at different levels. For the first time, free nitrous acid (FNA), other than ammonium, pH, and free ammonia, was demonstrated to inhibit atenolol removal, with biodegradation efficiencies of ∼98, ∼67, and ∼28% within 6 days at average FNA levels of 0, 0.03, and 0.19 mg-N L–1, respectively. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB)-induced metabolism was predominant despite varying FNA concentrations. In the absence of ammonium/FNA, atenolol was mostly biodegraded via AOB-induced metabolism (65%) and heterotroph-induced metabolism (33%). AOB-induced metabolism was largely inhibited (down to 29%) at 0.03 mg-N L–1 FNA, while ∼27 and ∼11% were degraded via heterotroph-induced metabolism and AOB-induced cometabolism, respectively. Higher FNA (0.19 mg-N L–1) substantially reduced atenolol biodegradation via heterotroph-induced metabolism (4%), AOB-induced metabolism (16%), and AOB-induced cometabolism (8%). Newly identified products and pathways were related to metabolic types and FNA levels: (i) deamination and decarbonylation (AOB-induced cometabolism, 0.03 mg-N L–1 FNA); (ii) deamination from atenolol acid (heterotrophic biodegradation); and (iii) nitro-substitution (reaction with nitrite). This suggests limiting FNA to realize simultaneous nitrogen and pharmaceutical removal during the sidestream process.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.1c08845