Responses of microbial communities and their interactions to ibuprofen in a bio-electrochemical system

Minghan Zhu; Minglu Zhang; Yibo Yuan; Peilin Zhang; Shuai Du; Tao Ya; Daying Chen; Xiaohui Wang; Tingting Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112473

Responses of microbial communities and their interactions to ibuprofen in a bio-electrochemical system

J Environ Manage. 2021 Jul 1:289:112473. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112473. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Authors

Minghan Zhu¹, Minglu Zhang², Yibo Yuan³, Peilin Zhang⁴, Shuai Du⁵, Tao Ya⁴, Daying Chen⁴, Xiaohui Wang⁶, Tingting Zhang⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Cleaner Production and Integrated Resource Utilization of China National Light Industry, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, 100048, China; Beijing Engineering Research Center of Environmental Material for Water Purification, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China; School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
² Key Laboratory of Cleaner Production and Integrated Resource Utilization of China National Light Industry, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, 100048, China.
³ School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
⁴ Beijing Engineering Research Center of Environmental Material for Water Purification, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China.
⁵ Beijing Guo Dian Fu Tong Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd., Beijing, 100090, China.
⁶ Beijing Engineering Research Center of Environmental Material for Water Purification, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China. Electronic address: xhwang@mail.buct.edu.cn.
⁷ Beijing Engineering Research Center of Environmental Material for Water Purification, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China. Electronic address: zhangtt@mail.buct.edu.cn.

PMID: 33819654
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112473

Abstract

Ibuprofen has caused great concerns due to their potential environmental risks. However, their removal efficiency and their effects on microbial interactions in bio-electrochemical system remain unclear. To address these issues, a lab-scale bio-electrochemical reactor integrated with sulfur/iron-mediated autotrophic denitrification (BER-S/IAD) system exposing to 1000 μg L^-1 ibuprofen was operated for about two months. Results revealed that the BER-S/IAD system obtained efficient simultaneous denitrification (98.93%) and phosphorus (82.67%) removal, as well as an excellent ibuprofen removal performance (96.98%). Ibuprofen had no significant impacts on the nitrate (NO₃^--N) removal and the ammonia (NH₄⁺-N) accumulation, but decreased the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiencies. MiSeq sequencing analysis revealed that ibuprofen significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the microbial community diversity and changed their overall structure. Some bacteria related to denitrification and phosphorus removal, such as Pseudomonas and Thiobacillus, decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Moreover, molecular ecological network (MEN) analysis revealed that ibuprofen decreased the network's size and complexity, and enhanced the negative correlations of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Besides, ibuprofen decreased the links of some keystone bacteria related to denitrification and phosphorus removal. This research could provide a new dimension for our comprehending of the responses of microbial communities and their interactions to ibuprofen in bio-electrochemical system.

Keywords: Bio-electrochemical system; Ibuprofen; Microbial community; Molecular ecological network; Wastewater nutrients removal.

MeSH terms

Bioreactors
Denitrification
Humans
Ibuprofen*
Microbiota*
Nitrates
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Wastewater

Substances

Nitrates
Waste Water
Phosphorus
Nitrogen
Ibuprofen