Non-target screening reveals the mechanisms responsible for the antagonistic inhibiting effect of the biocides DBNPA and glutaraldehyde on benzoic acid biodegradation

Thomas V Wagner; Rick Helmus; Silvana Quiton Tapia; Huub H M Rijnaarts; Pim de Voogt; Alette A M Langenhoff; John R Parsons

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121661

Non-target screening reveals the mechanisms responsible for the antagonistic inhibiting effect of the biocides DBNPA and glutaraldehyde on benzoic acid biodegradation

J Hazard Mater. 2020 Mar 15:386:121661. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121661. Epub 2019 Nov 10.

Authors

Thomas V Wagner¹, Rick Helmus², Silvana Quiton Tapia³, Huub H M Rijnaarts³, Pim de Voogt⁴, Alette A M Langenhoff³, John R Parsons²

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94248, 1092 GE, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 17, 6700 EV, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Electronic address: thomas.wagner@wur.nl.
² Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94248, 1092 GE, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
³ Department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 17, 6700 EV, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
⁴ Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94248, 1092 GE, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; KWR Water Research Institute, Chemical Water Quality and Health, P.O. Box 1072, 3430 BB, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.

PMID: 31740302
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121661

Abstract

The desalination and reuse of discharged cooling tower water (CTW) as feed water for the cooling tower could lower the industrial fresh water withdrawal. A potential pre-treatment method before CTW desalination is the use of constructed wetlands (CWs). Biodegradation is an important removal mechanism in CWs. In the present study, the impact of the biocides 2,2-dibromo-2-cyanoacetamide (DBNPA) and glutaraldehyde on the biodegradation process by CW microorganisms was quantified in batch experiments in which benzoic acid was incubated with realistic CTW biocide concentrations. DBNPA had a stronger negative impact on the biodegradation than glutaraldehyde. The combination of DBNPA and glutaraldehyde had a lower impact on the biodegradation than DBNPA alone. UHPLC-qTOF-MS/MS non-target screening combined with data-analysis script 'patRoon' revealed two mechanisms behind this low impact. Firstly, the presence of glutaraldehyde resulted in increased DBNPA transformation to the less toxic transformation product 2-bromo-2-cyanoacetamide (MBNPA) and newly discovered 2,2-dibromopropanediamide. Secondly, the interaction between glutaraldehyde and DBNPA resulted in the formation of new products that were less toxic than DBNPA. The environmental fate and toxicity of these products are still unknown. Nevertheless, their formation can have important implications for the simultaneous use of the biocides DBNPA and glutaraldehyde for a wide array of applications.

Keywords: Biocides; Constructed wetlands; Cooling tower water; Non-target screening.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Benzoic Acid / metabolism*
Biodegradation, Environmental
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Glutaral / pharmacology*
Nitriles / pharmacology*
Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Wetlands

Substances

Nitriles
2,2-dibromo-3-nitrilopropionamide
Benzoic Acid
Glutaral