Assessment of Trametes versicolor, Isochrysis galbana, and Purple Phototrophic Bacteria for the Removal of Pharmaceutical Compounds in Hospital Wastewater

Hospitals are one of the key contributors of pharmaceutical contaminants of emerging concern to the sewer systems. Hospitals wastewaters contain concentrations of pharmaceutical compounds between 3 and 150, which are higher than urban wastewater streams. However, dedicated treatments of the hospital effluents before discharge to the sewer system are not compulsory. Besides, conventional wastewater treatment plants have not been designed to remove pharmaceutical compounds effectively, and consequently, these micropollutants can reach the aquatic ecosystems. The removal of pharmaceutical compounds in real hospital wastewater was gaged using three different microbial cultures (white rot-fungus Trametes versicolor, microalga Isochrysis galbana, and a mixed culture of non-sulfur purple phototrophic bacteria). Before and after bioassays of the hospital wastewater, environmental hazard quotients were used to evaluate the biological treatment efficiency. Up to 45 out of the 79 compounds included in the analytical method were noticed in the hospital wastewater, with a predominance of analgesics/anti-inflammatories (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen). It was followed by antibiotics (azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, and ofloxacin, out of which the first two are included in the watch list of substances for monitoring in water in 2020) and anti-hypertensive drugs. Isochrysis galbana reached a reduction of 45% of the total concentration of pharmaceuticals, whereas Trametes versicolor and mixed culture of purple phototrophic bacteria improved the reductions up to 69% and 76%, respectively. Moreover, potential environmental risk compounds (antibiotics, particularly ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin) were removed by Trametes versicolor in higher extension, obtaining a total hazard quotient reduction higher than the other two cultures. Removal efficiency and environmental risk assessment of remaining PhACs were used to evaluate the performance of the new biological systems for the treatment of emerging pollutants. According to both criteria, T. versicolor seems the most capable alternative for removing pharmaceutical compounds in hospital wastewater effluents.

[1]  J. Casas,et al.  A comparative study among catalytic wet air oxidation, Fenton, and Photo-Fenton technologies for the on-site treatment of hospital wastewater. , 2021, Journal of environmental management.

[2]  L. Hinojosa-Reyes,et al.  Determination of Pharmaceuticals Discharged in Wastewater from a Public Hospital Using LC-MS/MS Technique , 2021 .

[3]  Mohamed Shuaib Mohamed Saheed,et al.  Conventional and emerging technologies for removal of antibiotics from wastewater. , 2020, Journal of hazardous materials.

[4]  M. I. Pariente,et al.  Fenton-like catalyst based on a reticulated porous perovskite material: Activity and stability for the on-site removal of pharmaceutical micropollutans in a hospital wastewater , 2020 .

[5]  W. Verstraete,et al.  Purple phototrophic bacteria for resource recovery: Challenges and opportunities. , 2020, Biotechnology advances.

[6]  R. Flick,et al.  Mechanisms of pharmaceutical and personal care product removal in algae-based wastewater treatment systems. , 2019, The Science of the total environment.

[7]  R. Muñoz,et al.  Photobioreactors based on microalgae-bacteria and purple phototrophic bacteria consortia: A promising technology to reduce the load of veterinary drugs from piggery wastewater. , 2019, The Science of the total environment.

[8]  M. I. Pariente,et al.  Trametes versicolor immobilized on rotating biological contactors as alternative biological treatment for the removal of emerging concern micropollutants. , 2019, Water research.

[9]  Christa S. McArdell,et al.  Consolidated vs new advanced treatment methods for the removal of contaminants of emerging concern from urban wastewater. , 2019, The Science of the total environment.

[10]  R. Surampalli,et al.  Emerging contaminants: Here today, there tomorrow! , 2018, Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management.

[11]  B. Glass,et al.  Advanced oxidation process-mediated removal of pharmaceuticals from water: A review. , 2018, Journal of environmental management.

[12]  R. Baccar,et al.  Can white-rot fungi be a real wastewater treatment alternative for organic micropollutants removal? A review. , 2018, Water research.

[13]  Saad H. Ammar,et al.  Cultivation of Nannochloropsis oculata and Isochrysis galbana microalgae in produced water for bioremediation and biomass production , 2018 .

[14]  E. Lima,et al.  Removal of emerging contaminants from the environment by adsorption. , 2018, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[15]  V. Tyagi,et al.  Occurrence and fate of emerging contaminants in water environment: A review , 2018 .

[16]  L. A. Féris,et al.  Determination of pharmaceutical compounds in hospital wastewater and their elimination by advanced oxidation processes , 2018, Journal of environmental science and health. Part A, Toxic/hazardous substances & environmental engineering.

[17]  O. S. Bello,et al.  Threats from antibiotics: A serious environmental concern , 2018 .

[18]  D. Barceló,et al.  The role of sorption processes in the removal of pharmaceuticals by fungal treatment of wastewater. , 2018, The Science of the total environment.

[19]  R. Beiras,et al.  Ecotoxicological evaluation of the risk posed by bisphenol A, triclosan, and 4-nonylphenol in coastal waters using early life stages of marine organisms (Isochrysis galbana, Mytilus galloprovincialis, Paracentrotus lividus, and Acartia clausi). , 2018, Environmental pollution.

[20]  Mayur B. Kurade,et al.  Can Microalgae Remove Pharmaceutical Contaminants from Water? , 2018, Trends in biotechnology.

[21]  M. I. Pariente,et al.  Removal of pharmaceutical compounds from urban wastewater by an advanced bio-oxidation process based on fungi Trametes versicolor immobilized in a continuous RBC system , 2018, Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

[22]  Amirreza Talaiekhozani,et al.  Application of photosynthetic bacteria for removal of heavy metals, macro-pollutants and dye from wastewater: A review , 2017 .

[23]  J. González-López,et al.  Overview on the Biochemical Potential of Filamentous Fungi to Degrade Pharmaceutical Compounds , 2017, Front. Microbiol..

[24]  A. Goonetilleke,et al.  Treatment Technologies for Emerging Contaminants in water: A review , 2017 .

[25]  D. Barceló,et al.  Performance of a microalgal photobioreactor treating toilet wastewater: Pharmaceutically active compound removal and biomass harvesting. , 2017, The Science of the total environment.

[26]  Zane N Norvill,et al.  Ciprofloxacin removal during secondary domestic wastewater treatment in high rate algal ponds. , 2017, Chemosphere.

[27]  Y. Segura,et al.  Efficient Treatment of Synthetic Wastewater Contaminated with Emerging Pollutants by Anaerobic Purple Phototrophic Bacteria , 2017 .

[28]  E. Granek,et al.  Effects of environmentally-relevant antibiotic mixtures on marine microalgal growth. , 2017, The Science of the total environment.

[29]  L. Gómez-Oliván,et al.  Legislation Controlling the Discharge of Pharmaceuticals into the Environment , 2017 .

[30]  P. Verlicchi,et al.  Occurrence of Common Pollutants and Pharmaceuticals in Hospital Effluents , 2017 .

[31]  D. Barceló,et al.  Removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater by fungal treatment and reduction of hazard quotients. , 2016, The Science of the total environment.

[32]  M. Ibáñez,et al.  Behaviour of emerging contaminants in sewage sludge after anaerobic digestion. , 2016, Chemosphere.

[33]  L. F. Bautista,et al.  Biological removal of pharmaceutical compounds using white-rot fungi with concomitant FAME production of the residual biomass. , 2016, Journal of environmental management.

[34]  A. Díaz.  Degradation of pharmaceutical compounds by microalgae: photobioreactor wastewater treatment, biomass harvesting and methanization , 2016 .

[35]  D. Barceló,et al.  Fungal treatment for the removal of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in veterinary hospital wastewater. , 2016, Chemosphere.

[36]  Nguyen Thanh Dat,et al.  Antibiotics in Wastewater of a Rural and an Urban Hospital before and after Wastewater Treatment, and the Relationship with Antibiotic Use—A One Year Study from Vietnam , 2016, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[37]  Ceres A. Molina-Cárdenas,et al.  Decreasing of bacterial content in Isochrysis galbana cultures by using some antibiotics , 2016 .

[38]  G. Zeeman,et al.  Micropollutant removal in an algal treatment system fed with source separated wastewater streams. , 2016, Journal of hazardous materials.

[39]  D. Barceló,et al.  Pharmaceuticals and iodinated contrast media in a hospital wastewater: A case study to analyse their presence and characterise their environmental risk and hazard. , 2015, Environmental research.

[40]  I. Ferrer,et al.  Capability of microalgae-based wastewater treatment systems to remove emerging organic contaminants: a pilot-scale study. , 2015, Journal of hazardous materials.

[41]  J. Qin,et al.  Comparison of N and P requirements of Isochrysis galbana under phototrophic and mixotrophic conditions , 2014, Journal of Applied Phycology.

[42]  D. Barceló,et al.  Degradation of selected agrochemicals by the white rot fungus Trametes versicolor. , 2014, The Science of the total environment.

[43]  D. Barceló,et al.  Hospital wastewater treatment by fungal bioreactor: removal efficiency for pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptor compounds. , 2014, The Science of the total environment.

[44]  D. Barceló,et al.  Biodegradation of the X-ray contrast agent iopromide and the fluoroquinolone antibiotic ofloxacin by the white rot fungus Trametes versicolor in hospital wastewaters and identification of degradation products. , 2014, Water research.

[45]  Damien J Batstone,et al.  Phototrophic bacteria for nutrient recovery from domestic wastewater. , 2014, Water research.

[46]  Damià Barceló,et al.  Contribution of hospital effluents to the load of pharmaceuticals in urban wastewaters: identification of ecologically relevant pharmaceuticals. , 2013, The Science of the total environment.

[47]  D. Barceló,et al.  Fast and comprehensive multi-residue analysis of a broad range of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and some of their metabolites in surface and treated waters by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-linear ion trap tandem mass spectrometry. , 2012, Journal of chromatography. A.

[48]  P Verlicchi,et al.  Hospital effluent: investigation of the concentrations and distribution of pharmaceuticals and environmental risk assessment. , 2012, The Science of the total environment.

[49]  C. Karigar,et al.  Photobiodegradation of halogenated aromatic pollutants , 2010 .

[50]  Paola Verlicchi,et al.  Hospital effluents as a source of emerging pollutants: An overview of micropollutants and sustainable treatment options , 2010 .

[51]  T. Vicent,et al.  Degradation of the drug sodium diclofenac by Trametes versicolor pellets and identification of some intermediates by NMR. , 2010, Journal of hazardous materials.

[52]  X. Dai,et al.  Potentials of phototrophic bacteria in treating pharmaceutical wastewater , 2010 .

[53]  Vienna Lecture,et al.  ON THE EUROPEAN UNION , 2010 .

[54]  C. Harwood.  Degradation of Aromatic Compounds by Purple Nonsulfur Bacteria , 2009 .

[55]  S. Mukherji,et al.  Treatment of hydrocarbon-rich wastewater using oil degrading bacteria and phototrophic microorganisms in rotating biological contactor: effect of N:P ratio. , 2008, Journal of hazardous materials.

[56]  Ji-ti Zhou,et al.  Bacterial Decolorization of Azo Dyes by Rhodopseudomonas palustris , 2006 .

[57]  Å. Wennmalm,et al.  Public Health Care Management of Water Pollution with Pharmaceuticals: Environmental Classification and Analysis of Pharmaceutical Residues in Sewage Water , 2005 .

[58]  R. Brain,et al.  Probabilistic hazard assessment of environmentally occurring pharmaceuticals toxicity to fish, daphnids and algae by ECOSAR screening. , 2003, Toxicology letters.

[59]  Awwa,et al.  Standard Methods for the examination of water and wastewater , 1999 .

[60]  C. Sasikala,et al.  Biodegradation and metabolism of unusual carbon compounds by anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria. , 1998, Advances in microbial physiology.