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Efficient enzymatic degradation used as pre-stage treatment for norfloxacin removal by activated sludge

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering volume 40, pages 1261–1270 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Norfloxacin is often found in wastewater treatment plants, groundwater, and even drinking water causing environmental concerns because of its potential undesirable effects on human health or aquatic ecosystems. However, conventional treatments cannot deal with norfloxacin efficiently. This work proposes an efficiently enzymatic degradation of norfloxacin by chloroperoxidase (CPO). 82.18% degradation efficiency of norfloxacin was achieved after 25 min reaction time at pH 5.0 with an enzyme concentration of 1.5 × 10−9 mol L−1. HPLC–MS was used to determine the intermediates or final products. The product analysis and determination of the chemical oxygen demand indicated if the enzymatic degradation by CPO was carried out before the usually existing bioremediation techniques (usually activated sludge) in sewage treatment plant, the effluent containing norfloxacin can be decontaminated more efficiently and thoroughly than that only by activated sludge treatment. The eco-toxicity tests using a green algae, Chlorella pyrenoidosa, indicated that the toxicity of degraded products of norfloxacin was lower than the parent norfloxacin molecule. CPO-catalyzed degradation of norfloxacin is a promising alternative for treating effluent containing norfloxacin.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21176150) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (GK201701003).

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Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, 710062, People’s Republic of China

    Ruinan Zhao, Xiaohong Li, Mancheng Hu, Shuni Li, Quanguo Zhai & Yucheng Jiang

  2. Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Science of Shaanxi Province, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, 710062, People’s Republic of China

    Mancheng Hu, Shuni Li, Quanguo Zhai & Yucheng Jiang

  3. No. 620 West Chang’an Road, Chang’an District, Xi’an, 710119, People’s Republic of China

    Yucheng Jiang

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  1. Ruinan Zhao
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  2. Xiaohong Li
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Correspondence to Yucheng Jiang.

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Zhao, R., Li, X., Hu, M. et al. Efficient enzymatic degradation used as pre-stage treatment for norfloxacin removal by activated sludge. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 40, 1261–1270 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-017-1786-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-017-1786-y

Keywords

  • Norfloxacin
  • Chloroperoxidase
  • Enzymatic degradation
  • Product determination
  • Eco-toxicity evaluation