Peroxymonosulfate activation by a metal-free biochar for sulfonamide antibiotic removal in water and associated bacterial community composition

Chang-Mao Hung; Chiu-Wen Chen; Chin-Pao Huang; Su Shiung Lam; Cheng-Di Dong

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126082

Peroxymonosulfate activation by a metal-free biochar for sulfonamide antibiotic removal in water and associated bacterial community composition

Bioresour Technol. 2022 Jan:343:126082. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126082. Epub 2021 Oct 2.

Authors

Chang-Mao Hung¹, Chiu-Wen Chen¹, Chin-Pao Huang², Su Shiung Lam³, Cheng-Di Dong⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Marine Environmental Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, USA.
³ Pyrolysis Technology Research Group, Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE), Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia.
⁴ Department of Marine Environmental Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Electronic address: cddong@nkust.edu.tw.

PMID: 34610427
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126082

Abstract

Antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SMX) has been commonly found in various water matrices, therefore effective decontamination method is urgently needed. Metal-free pristine coconut-shell-derived biochar (CSBC), synthesized by thermochemical conversion at 700 °C, was used for activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS), an oxidant, to degrade SMX, a sulfonamide antibiotic, in water. SMX degradation, maximized at 0.05 mM concentration, was 85% in 30 min at pH 5.0 in the presence of 150 mg L^-1 of CSBC. Remarkably, SMX removal reached 99% in a chloride-rich CSBC/PMS system. SMX degradation was mainly attributed to the role of CSBC in enhancing PMS activation to produce combined radical (SO₄^•-/HO•) and nonradical (¹O₂) reaction pathways. The most abundant genus in the CSBC/PMS system was Methylotenera, which belonged to the Proteobacteria phylum. Thus, from a perspective of biowaste-to-resource recycling and circular bioeconomy view point, CSBC is a potential catalytic activator of PMS for the removal of sulfonamide antibiotics from aqueous environments.

Keywords: Antibiotic degradation; Bacterial community; Coconut-shell-derived biochar (CSBC); Peroxymonosulfate activation.

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Charcoal
Peroxides
Sulfonamides
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis
Water*

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Peroxides
Sulfonamides
Water Pollutants, Chemical
biochar
Water
Charcoal
peroxymonosulfate