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Qian Y, Guan L, Ke Y, Wang L, Wang X, Yu N, Yu Q, Wei S, Geng J. Unveiling intricate transformation pathways of emerging contaminants during wastewater treatment processes through simplified network analysis. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 253:121299. [PMID: 38387265 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
As the key stage for purifying wastewater, elimination of emerging contaminants (ECs) is found to be fairly low in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, less knowledge is obtained regarding the transformation pathways between various chemical structures of ECs under different treatment processes. This study unveiled the transformation pathways of ECs with different structures in 15 WWTPs distributed across China by simplified network analysis (SNA) we proposed. After treatment, the molecular weight of the whole component of wastewater decreased and the hydrophilicity increased. There are significant differences in the structure of eliminated, consistent and formed pollutants. Amino acids, peptides, and analogues (AAPAs) were detected most frequently and most removable. Benzenoids were refractory. Triazoles were often produced. The high-frequency reactions in different WWTPs were similar, (de)methylation and dehydration occurred most frequently. Different biological treatment processes performed similarly, while some advanced treatment processes differed, such as a significant increase of -13.976 (2HO reaction) paired mass distances (PMDs) in the chlorine alone process. Further, the common structural transformation was uncovered. 4 anti-hypertensive drugs, including irbesartan, valsartan, olmesartan, and losartan, were identified, along with 22 transformation products (TPs) of them. OH2 and H2O PMDs occurred most frequently and in 80.81 % of the parent-transformation product pairs, the intensity of the product was higher than parent in effluents, whose risk should be considered in future assessment activity. Together our results provide a macrography perspective on the transformation processes of ECs in WWTPs. In the future, selectively adopting wastewater treatment technology according to structures is conductive for eliminating recalcitrant ECs in WWTPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuli Qian
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023 Jiangsu, China
| | - Linchang Guan
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023 Jiangsu, China
| | - Yunhao Ke
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023 Jiangsu, China
| | - Liye Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023 Jiangsu, China
| | - Xuebing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023 Jiangsu, China
| | - Nanyang Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023 Jiangsu, China
| | - Qingmiao Yu
- Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
| | - Si Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023 Jiangsu, China.
| | - Jinju Geng
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023 Jiangsu, China; Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China.
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Wang L, Lin Y, Li J, Yu Q, Xu K, Ren H, Geng J. Deciphering Microbe-Mediated Dissolved Organic Matter Reactome in Wastewater Treatment Plants Using Directed Paired Mass Distance. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:739-750. [PMID: 38147428 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c06871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the reaction mechanism of dissolved organic matter (DOM) during wastewater biotreatment is crucial for optimal DOM control. Here, we develop a directed paired mass distance (dPMD) method that constructs a molecular network displaying the reaction pathways of DOM. It couples direction inference and PMD analysis to extract the substrate-product relationships and delta masses of potentially paired reactants directly from sequential mass spectrometry data without formula assignment. Using this method, we analyze the influent and effluent samples from the bioprocesses of 12 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and build a dPMD network to characterize the core reactome of DOM. The network shows that the first step of the transformation triggers reaction cascades that diversify the DOM, but the highly overlapped subsequent reaction pathways result in similar effluent DOM compositions across WWTPs despite varied influents. Mass changes exhibit consistent gain/loss preferences (e.g., +3.995 and -16.031) but different occurrences across WWTPs. Combined with genome-centric metatranscriptomics, we reveal the associations among dPMDs, enzymes, and microbes. Most enzymes are involved in oxygenation, (de)hydrogenation, demethylation, and hydration-related reactions but with different target substrates and expressed by various taxa, as exemplified by Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Nitrospirae. Therefore, a functionally diverse community is pivotal for advanced DOM degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liye Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, P. R. China
| | - Yuan Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, P. R. China
| | - Juechun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, P. R. China
| | - Qingmiao Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, P. R. China
| | - Ke Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, P. R. China
| | - Hongqiang Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, P. R. China
| | - Jinju Geng
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, P. R. China
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Zhao C, Hou Y, Wang Y, Li P, He C, Shi Q, Yi Y, He D. Unraveling the photochemical reactivity of dissolved organic matter in the Yangtze river estuary: Integrating incubations with field observations. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 245:120638. [PMID: 37742401 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) sustains a substantial part of the organic matter transported seaward in large estuaries, where photochemical reactions significantly influence its transformation and fate. Irradiation experiments can provide valuable information on the photochemical reactivity (photo-labile, photo-resistant, and photo-product) of molecules. However, previous research paid less attention to exploring the controls of the initial DOM chemistry to irradiation experiments and examining the applicability of their further integration with field research. Here, we conducted irradiation experiments for samples from the freshwater and seawater endmember of the Yangtze River Estuary (YRE), which receives organic matter transport from the largest river in China, the Yangtze River. Molecules that occurred before and after irradiation experiments were characterized by the Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Results show that both post-irradiation samples have the lower aromaticity degree and reduced oxidation state, while the freshwater endmember sample exhibits more dramatic changes, indicating the controls of parent molecules to the effect of irradiation experiments. Integrating with the "molecular matching" approach, we compared the molecules occurring in field samples with the classified molecules (photo-resistant, photo-labile, and photo-product) acquired from performed irradiation experiments and correlated the relative intensity of photochemical reactivity types with salinity. When applying results from different experiments to conduct "molecular matching", the photo-resistant and photo-labile relative intensity possess consistently positive and negative trends with increasing salinity, respectively. This suggests their reliability for molecular matching applications, while the inconsistent trends for the photo-product relative intensity with salinity suggest its uncertainty in assessing the photo-induced effects. Moreover, the molecular composition within the photochemical reactivity types in field samples also evolved along the salinity gradient and showed similar trends with the DOM changes after experimental irradiation. Despite various factors influencing estimations, it is revealed that a fraction of aromatic molecules and majority of carboxyl-rich alicyclic molecules considered with biologically persistent nature in the YRE freshwater zone are simultaneously not susceptible to photochemical transformation to potentially constitute a long-term marine carbon sink. This study emphasizes the importance and limitations of the combination of field research and laboratory-controlled experiments to provide a better understanding of the crucial role of photochemical reactions in affecting carbon cycling in large estuaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Zhao
- Department of Ocean Science and Center for Ocean Research in Hong Kong and Macau, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yifu Hou
- Department of Ocean Science and Center for Ocean Research in Hong Kong and Macau, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yuntao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, China
| | - Penghui Li
- School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, Zhuhai 519082, China
| | - Chen He
- State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Changping District, Beijing 102249, China
| | - Quan Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Changping District, Beijing 102249, China
| | - Yuanbi Yi
- Department of Ocean Science and Center for Ocean Research in Hong Kong and Macau, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Ding He
- Department of Ocean Science and Center for Ocean Research in Hong Kong and Macau, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, China; State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
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