Biodegradation of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Mesophilic Anaerobic Digestion of Sewage Sludge

As persistent organic pollutants, polybrominateddiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were frequently detected in sewage sludge worldwide. The occurrence of PBDEs as well as the irpotential environmental risk was widely concerned in recent years. However, few studies were conducted on the fate of PBDEs during the disposal of sewage sludge. The present study developed a small-scale anaerobic digestion reactor to explore the degradation of PBDEs in sewage sludge in 60 days. Meanwhile, the microbial structure in sludge was analyzed, aiming to further identify the responsible species for the degradation. Results showed that the mesophilic anaerobic digestion reaction reached to equilibrium after two sludge age running (40 days). The mass of BDE-209, a main component of PBDEs in sewage sludge, increased in the first sludge age and then decreased in the following two ages with a degradation rate of 67.5%. For all other PBDE congeners, the mass increased dramatically in the third sludge age, especially for three nona-brominated congeners BDE-206, 207, and 208. Based on mass changes and chemical structures of three nona-brominated congeners, the debromination of BDE-209 is more likely to occur in metaand ortho-position of bromine rather than para-position. Other degradation products containing bromine are also expected. High-throughput sequencing results indicated that the microbialspecies in anaerobic sewage sludge is diverse, of which dehalococcoidaceae could be contributed more to the degradation of PBDEs. The findings could provide help in the isolation and culture of strains for degradation of PBDEs in sludge. Open Access

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