Biodegradation of fluoxetine and 17á-ethinylestradiol by bacteria isolated from a wastewater treatment plant process

Shylova, Anastasiia

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/13991

Use this identifier to reference this record.

Name:	Description:	Size:	Format:
Thesis_Anastasiia_Shylova.pdf		2.01 MB	Adobe PDF	Download

Send Feedback

Authors

Shylova, Anastasiia

Advisor(s)

Costa, Maria Clara

Palma, Tania Cristina da Luz

Abstract(s)

The increasing development of drugs such as antidepressants and hormones led to serious environmental and health problems, becoming mandatory to study different ways to remove a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor like fluoxetine (FLX) and estrogens like 17α- ethinylestradiol (EE2) during the wastewater treatment process. The study was carried out by using activated sludge samples from the Faro Northwest wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to isolate bacteria under aerobic conditions in order to test their resistance in the presence of FLX and EE2 and investigate the biodegradability of chosen pharmaceuticals. In the present study, the identification of bacterial isolates was performed by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene of the obtained resistant bacteria. The obtained isolates which showed the ability to grow in the presence of 20 and 50 mg/L FLX were Pseudomonas putida, Enterobacter ludwigii, Pseudomonas nitritireducens, Alcaligenes faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas nitroreducens and in the presence of 15 mg/L EE2 were Acinetobacter bouvetii, Acinetobacter kookii, Pantoea agglomerans Shinella zoogloeoides. These isolates were identified as FLX and EE2 degraders for the first time. FLX and EE2 biodegradation assays was performed in liquid medium. The results showed that for 20 mg/L FLX the bacterial isolate Pseudomonas nitroreducens displayed the highest removal efficiency of 55 ± 1% and for 15 mg/L EE2 Pantoea agglomerans removed 64 ± 4% of the drug. This research shows the importance of the involved bacteria for the effectiveness of the removal of these drugs in a wastewater treatment plant. A complete removal of pharmaceutical compounds from wastewater will stimulate water reuse, directing attention worldwide increasing requirements for clean and safe fresh water.