The effects of mediator and granular activated carbon addition on degradation of trace organic contaminants by an enzymatic membrane reactor

Luong N Nguyen; Faisal I Hai; William E Price; Frederic D L Leusch; Felicity Roddick; Hao H Ngo; Wenshan Guo; Saleh F Magram; Long D Nghiem

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2014.05.125

The effects of mediator and granular activated carbon addition on degradation of trace organic contaminants by an enzymatic membrane reactor

Bioresour Technol. 2014 Sep:167:169-77. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.05.125. Epub 2014 Jun 9.

Authors

Luong N Nguyen¹, Faisal I Hai², William E Price³, Frederic D L Leusch⁴, Felicity Roddick⁵, Hao H Ngo⁶, Wenshan Guo⁶, Saleh F Magram⁷, Long D Nghiem¹

Affiliations

¹ Strategic Water Infrastructure Lab, School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
² Strategic Water Infrastructure Lab, School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. Electronic address: faisal@uow.edu.au.
³ Strategic Water Infrastructure Lab, School of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
⁴ Smart Water Research Centre, Griffith University, QLD 4222, Australia.
⁵ School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia.
⁶ Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia.
⁷ Department of Civil Engineering, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 24980029
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.05.125

Abstract

The removal of four recalcitrant trace organic contaminants (TrOCs), namely carbamazepine, diclofenac, sulfamethoxazole and atrazine by laccase in an enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) was studied. Laccases are not effective for degrading non-phenolic compounds; nevertheless, 22-55% removal of these four TrOCs was achieved by the laccase EMR. Addition of the redox-mediator syringaldehyde (SA) to the EMR resulted in a notable dose-dependent improvement (15-45%) of TrOC removal affected by inherent TrOC properties and loading rates. However, SA addition resulted in a concomitant increase in the toxicity of the treated effluent. A further 14-25% improvement in aqueous phase removal of the TrOCs was consistently observed following a one-off dosing of 3g/L granular activated carbon (GAC). Mass balance analysis reveals that this improvement was not due solely to adsorption but also enhanced biodegradation. GAC addition also reduced membrane fouling and the SA-induced toxicity of the effluent.

Keywords: Enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR); Granular activated carbon (GAC); Laccase; Redox-mediator; Trace organic contaminants (TrOCs).

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Batch Cell Culture Techniques
Biodegradation, Environmental / drug effects
Biofouling
Bioreactors*
Charcoal / pharmacology*
Laccase / metabolism*
Membranes, Artificial*
Organic Chemicals / isolation & purification*
Pressure
Water Pollutants, Chemical / isolation & purification*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / toxicity

Substances

Membranes, Artificial
Organic Chemicals
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Charcoal
Laccase