RT Journal Article
T1 Why are organic micropollutants not fully biotransformed? A mechanistic modelling approach to anaerobic systems
A1 González Gil, Lorena
A1 Mauricio Iglesias, Miguel
A1 Carballa Arcos, Marta
A1 Lema Rodicio, Juan Manuel
K1 Bioavailability
K1 Biotransformation mechanism
K1 Incomplete removal
K1 Mathematical modelling
K1 Parameter estimation
K1 Pharmaceuticals
AB Biotransformation of most organic micropollutants (OMPs) during wastewater treatment is not complete and a drastic decrease of the biotransformation rate with time is reported for many OMPs in different biological processes. To minimize and accurately predict the emission of OMPs into the environment, the mechanisms and limitations behind their biotransformations should be clarified. Aiming to achieve this objective, the present study follows a mechanistic modelling approach, based on the formulation of four models according to different biotransformation hypotheses: Michaelis-Menten kinetics, chemical equilibrium between the parent compound and the transformation product (TP), enzymatic inhibition by the TP, and a limited compound bioavailability due to its sequestration in the solid phase. These models were calibrated and validated with kinetic experiments performed in two different anaerobic systems: continuous reactors enriched with methanogenic biomass and batch assays with anaerobic sludge. Model selection was conducted according to model suitability criteria (goodness of fitting the experimental data, confidence of the estimated parameters, and model parsimony) but also considering mechanistic evidences. The findings suggest that reversibility of the biological reactions and/or sequestration of compounds are likely the causes preventing the complete biotransformation of OMPs, and biotransformation is probably limited by thermodynamics rather than by kinetics. Taking into account its simplicity and broader applicability spectrum, the reversible biotransformation is the proposed model to explain the incomplete biotransformation of OMPs
PB Elsevier
SN 0043-1354
YR 2018
FD 2018-05-21
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/17380
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/17380
LA eng
NO Gonzalez-Gil, L., Mauricio-Iglesias, M., Carballa, M., & Lema, J. M. (2018). Why are organic micropollutants not fully biotransformed? A mechanistic modelling approach to anaerobic systems. Water research, 142, 115-128.
NO This is a post-print version of the article
NO This research was funded by the Spanish Government (AEI) through the COMETT project (CTQ2016-80847-R) and by an FPU Grant (FPU13/01255). The authors belong to CRETUS Strategic Partnership (AGRUP2015/02) and to Galician Competitive Research Group (GRC ED431C 2017/29). All these programs are co-funded by FEDER (EU)
DS Minerva
RD 25 abr 2026