Comparison of decabromodiphenyl ether degradation in long-term operated anaerobic bioreactors under thermophilic and mesophilic conditions and the pathways involved

Chen Shi; Yong Hu; Takuro Kobayashi; Nan Zhang; Hidetoshi Kuramochi; Zhenya Zhang; Zhongfang Lei; Kai-Qin Xu

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113009

Comparison of decabromodiphenyl ether degradation in long-term operated anaerobic bioreactors under thermophilic and mesophilic conditions and the pathways involved

J Environ Manage. 2021 Sep 15:294:113009. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113009. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

Authors

Chen Shi¹, Yong Hu², Takuro Kobayashi³, Nan Zhang⁴, Hidetoshi Kuramochi², Zhenya Zhang⁴, Zhongfang Lei⁴, Kai-Qin Xu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Material Cycles Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan; Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan; Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, PR China.
² Material Cycles Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan.
³ Material Cycles Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan. Electronic address: kobayashi.takuro@nies.go.jp.
⁴ Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan.
⁵ Material Cycles Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan; Fujian Ospring Technology Development Co., Ltd., No. 22 Jinrong North Road Cangshan District, Fuzhou, 350000, PR China. Electronic address: joexu@nies.go.jp.

PMID: 34126536
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113009

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion of decabromodiphenyl ether was carried out and compared in two continuously stirred anaerobic bioreactors for 210 days under thermophilic and mesophilic conditions. Results show that the degradation of decabromodiphenyl ether followed the first-order reaction kinetics, which exhibited a higher removal rate in the thermophilic reactor when compared to the mesophilic one, reaching its maximum of 1.1 μg·day^-1. The anaerobic digestion of decabromodiphenyl ether was found to involve the replacement of bromines from polybrominated diphenyl ether by hydrogen atoms, gradually forming nona-, octa- and hepta-brominated diphenyl ether, respectively. Under the thermophilic condition, the reactors were dominated by Bacillus sp. and Methanosarcina sp. with high bioactivity and high concentrations of debromination microorganisms.

Keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Decabromodiphenyl ethers; Degradation pathway; Thermophilic digestion.

MeSH terms

Anaerobiosis
Bioreactors*
Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers*
Hydrogen
Temperature

Substances

Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
Hydrogen
decabromobiphenyl ether