Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Biological degradation of organic micropollutants in GAC filters–temporal development and spatial variations

Takman, Maria LU ; Betsholtz, Alexander LU ; Davidsson, Åsa LU orcid ; Cimbritz, Michael LU ; Svahn, Ola LU ; Karlsson, Stina LU ; Karstenskov Østergaard, Stine ; Lund Nielsen, Jeppe and Falås, Per LU (2024) In Journal of Hazardous Materials 472.
Abstract

The capacity for organic micropollutant removal in granular activated carbon (GAC) filters for wastewater treatment changes over time. These changes are in general attributed to changes in adsorption, but may in some cases also be affected by biological degradation. Knowledge on the degradation of organic micropollutants, however, is scarce. In this work, the degradation of micropollutants in several full-scale GAC and sand filters was investigated through incubation experiments over a period of three years, using 14C-labeled organic micropollutants with different susceptibilities to biological degradation (ibuprofen, diclofenac, and carbamazepine), with parallel 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed that the... (More)

The capacity for organic micropollutant removal in granular activated carbon (GAC) filters for wastewater treatment changes over time. These changes are in general attributed to changes in adsorption, but may in some cases also be affected by biological degradation. Knowledge on the degradation of organic micropollutants, however, is scarce. In this work, the degradation of micropollutants in several full-scale GAC and sand filters was investigated through incubation experiments over a period of three years, using 14C-labeled organic micropollutants with different susceptibilities to biological degradation (ibuprofen, diclofenac, and carbamazepine), with parallel 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed that the degradation of diclofenac and ibuprofen in GAC filters increased with increasing numbers of bed volumes when free oxygen was available in the filter, while variations over filter depth were limited. Despite relatively large differences in bacterial composition between filters, a degradation of diclofenac was consistently observed for the GAC filters that had been operated with high influent oxygen concentration (DO >8 mg/L). The results of this comprehensive experimental work provide an increased understanding of the interactions between microbial composition, filter material, and oxygen availability in the biological degradation of organic micropollutants in GAC filters.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
16S rRNA gene sequencing, C-labeling, Microbial community, Pharmaceuticals, Wastewater treatment
in
Journal of Hazardous Materials
volume
472
article number
134449
pages
12 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:38733780
  • scopus:85192440992
ISSN
0304-3894
DOI
10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134449
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors
id
512c77e3-010a-4e63-94b8-4acbfebfb30a
date added to LUP
2024-12-05 09:34:25
date last changed
2025-07-04 03:24:21
@article{512c77e3-010a-4e63-94b8-4acbfebfb30a,
  abstract     = {{<p>The capacity for organic micropollutant removal in granular activated carbon (GAC) filters for wastewater treatment changes over time. These changes are in general attributed to changes in adsorption, but may in some cases also be affected by biological degradation. Knowledge on the degradation of organic micropollutants, however, is scarce. In this work, the degradation of micropollutants in several full-scale GAC and sand filters was investigated through incubation experiments over a period of three years, using <sup>14</sup>C-labeled organic micropollutants with different susceptibilities to biological degradation (ibuprofen, diclofenac, and carbamazepine), with parallel 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed that the degradation of diclofenac and ibuprofen in GAC filters increased with increasing numbers of bed volumes when free oxygen was available in the filter, while variations over filter depth were limited. Despite relatively large differences in bacterial composition between filters, a degradation of diclofenac was consistently observed for the GAC filters that had been operated with high influent oxygen concentration (DO &gt;8 mg/L). The results of this comprehensive experimental work provide an increased understanding of the interactions between microbial composition, filter material, and oxygen availability in the biological degradation of organic micropollutants in GAC filters.</p>}},
  author       = {{Takman, Maria and Betsholtz, Alexander and Davidsson, Åsa and Cimbritz, Michael and Svahn, Ola and Karlsson, Stina and Karstenskov Østergaard, Stine and Lund Nielsen, Jeppe and Falås, Per}},
  issn         = {{0304-3894}},
  keywords     = {{16S rRNA gene sequencing; C-labeling; Microbial community; Pharmaceuticals; Wastewater treatment}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Hazardous Materials}},
  title        = {{Biological degradation of organic micropollutants in GAC filters–temporal development and spatial variations}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134449}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134449}},
  volume       = {{472}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}