Degradation of low-concentration perfluorooctanoic acid via a microbial-based synergistic method: assessment of the feasibility and functional microorganisms

Rui Ding; Yan Wu; Fan Yang; Xiaofeng Xiao; Yidi Li; Xiaochun Tian; Feng Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125857

Degradation of low-concentration perfluorooctanoic acid via a microbial-based synergistic method: assessment of the feasibility and functional microorganisms

J Hazard Mater. 2021 Aug 15:416:125857. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125857. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Authors

Rui Ding¹, Yan Wu², Fan Yang³, Xiaofeng Xiao³, Yidi Li³, Xiaochun Tian⁴, Feng Zhao⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fujian Key Laboratory of Pollution Control & Resource Reuse, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province 350007, China; Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
² Public Health School, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province 350122, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China. Electronic address: fzhao@iue.ac.cn.

PMID: 34492806
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125857

Abstract

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is persistent in the environment. The activities of microorganisms alone are insufficient for the decomposition of PFOA, but microorganisms can contribute positively to the degradation of PFOA in synergistic systems. Herein, a synergistic system combining photocatalytic decay with microbial degradation of the transformation products was applied to degrade 500.0 μg L^-1 PFOA. The microorganisms increased the total removed percentage by 30.7% to a final percentage of 79.7 ± 9.4% in comparison with the photocatalytic method alone. Moreover, an additional 44.2% of removed total organic carbon and additional defluorination percentage of 24.5% were obtained after the synergistic tests. The 16S RNA sequencing analysis indicated that Stenotrophomonas, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Brevundimonas were highly enriched in the functional microbial community, which was simultaneously shaped by photocatalysis and substances. This study found it would be feasible to use a synergistic method containing photocatalysis and a microbial community for the degradation of low-concentrations of PFOA, and the results provided a reference to modified the removal efficiency of the synergistic system by looking insight into the relationship between the functional microbial community and PFOA.

Keywords: Bio-photocatalytic degradation; Functional microbial community; PFOA; Synergistic degradation.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Caprylates*
Feasibility Studies
Fluorocarbons*

Substances

Caprylates
Fluorocarbons
perfluorooctanoic acid