Continuous treatment of non-sterile hospital wastewater by Trametes versicolor: How to increase fungal viability by means of operational strategies and pretreatments

The objective of this work was to evaluate the semi-continuous post-treatment of anaerobically-pre-treated weak black liquor (anaerobic effluent, AnE) by aerobic post-treatment using hybrid pellets of Trametes versicolor. The latter consisted of fungus immobilized onto holm oak sawdust (mixed or double pellets) or a mixture of holm oak sawdust and powdered activated carbon (triple pellets). First, a semi-continuous experiment was run to compare the effectiveness of triple and mixed pellets in agitated flasks for 15 cycles of 7 days each. A second extended batch test was implemented with 500 mL AnE and triple pellets to give 400 mg fungal biomass; some units were spiked with protease inhibitor. In the first experiment, triple pellets displayed consistently higher removal efficiencies of pollutant parameters than double pellets (10 to 15% higher), although overall averages were moderate and no statistical significance to the difference could be set because of the noise of fluctuations. Periodic fluctuations of removal were characterized by three periods of approximately six cycles each with maximum removals occurring at cycles 3–4, 7–9, 13, and 14. Evaluating pooled removals of the latter cycles showed that triple pellets were significantly more effective than double pellets, with removal efficiencies as high as 47% of COD, colour, and absorbance at 254 nm (A254). In general, protease activity seemed to increase in the third period (last six cycles), whereas activities of MnP, LiP and Lac significantly decreased. In the second experiment, pollutant removals and enzymatic activities of triple pellets with protease inhibitor were significantly higher than those of units without added protease inhibitor. These results indicate that protease could be the main cause of periodic falls of pollutant removal efficiencies found in the first experiment.

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Removal of phenols-like substances in pharmaceutical wastewater with fungal bioreactors by adding Trametes versicolor

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2018.340 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 78 (4) ◽

pp. 743-750 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. Bernats ◽

T. Juhna

Keyword(s):

Continuous Flow ◽

Trametes Versicolor ◽

White Rot Fungi ◽

High Strength ◽

Continuous Treatment ◽

White Rot ◽

Flow Mode ◽

Pharmaceutical Wastewater ◽

Batch Mode ◽

Fungal Enzymes

Abstract Fungi are known to be more resistant to toxic compounds and more effective in removing recalcitrant organics such as phenols than bacteria. Here we examined the removal of phenols (as a component of Zopliclone drugs), added to non-sterile pharmaceutical wastewater with continuous treatment fungal bioreactor by its augmentation with mono-species of white-rot fungi (WRF) Trametes versicolor. Results showed that WRF in a sterile reactor (a batch mode) were moderately effective for removal of phenols (40% in seven days); however, native wastewater microbes at optimal conditions for fungi (pH 5.5, 25 °C) were more effective (90%, both in batch and continuous flow modes). In continuous flow mode, addition of WRF was an effective way to mitigate high loads of phenols (up to 400 mg/L), by both fungal enzymes (growth rate 0.075 h−1, laccase enzymatic activity 4 nkat/mL) and biosorption. The study confirmed that naturaly occuring fungi in combination with fungus-augmentation is an effective approach for treatment of high-strength pharmaceutical wastewater.

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Continuous treatment of clofibric acid by Trametes versicolor in a fluidized bed bioreactor: Identification of transformation products and toxicity assessment

Biochemical Engineering Journal ◽

10.1016/j.bej.2013.03.020 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 75 ◽

pp. 79-85 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Carles Cruz-Morató ◽

Aleksandra Jelić ◽

Sandra Perez ◽

Mira Petrović ◽

Damià Barceló ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fluidized Bed ◽

Trametes Versicolor ◽

Transformation Products ◽

Toxicity Assessment ◽

Clofibric Acid ◽

Continuous Treatment ◽

Fluidized Bed Bioreactor

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

Advances in Environmental and Engineering Research ◽

10.21926/aeer.2104027 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 02 (04) ◽

pp. 1-1

Author(s):

Ana Cruz del Álamo ◽

◽

María Isabel Pariente ◽

Alejandra Sanchez-Bayo ◽

Daniel Puyol ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mixed Culture ◽

Environmental Risk ◽

Trametes Versicolor ◽

Total Concentration ◽

Isochrysis Galbana ◽

Pharmaceutical Compounds ◽

Phototrophic Bacteria ◽

White Rot ◽

White Rot Fungus ◽

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.

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