Enhanced removal of chiral emerging contaminants by an electroactive biofilter
50% of pharmaceuticals and 25% of herbicides used worldwide are chiral. Each enantiomer has a unique toxicity and biodegradation profile, affecting differently to organisms. Chirality plays a key role in the behavior of these emerging contaminants (ECs) in terms of their pharmacological or herbicida...
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Science and Ecotechnology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666498424001145 |
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| author | Álvaro Pun Jesús Valimaña-Traverso María Ángeles García María Luisa Marina Abraham Esteve-Núñez Karina Boltes |
| author_facet | Álvaro Pun Jesús Valimaña-Traverso María Ángeles García María Luisa Marina Abraham Esteve-Núñez Karina Boltes |
| author_sort | Álvaro Pun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 50% of pharmaceuticals and 25% of herbicides used worldwide are chiral. Each enantiomer has a unique toxicity and biodegradation profile, affecting differently to organisms. Chirality plays a key role in the behavior of these emerging contaminants (ECs) in terms of their pharmacological or herbicidal activity, but this peculiarity is often overlooked in environmental research. The complexity of chiral ECs is underestimated, as the varying sensitivity of biological systems to enantiomers is rarely considered. Biofilters can promote the activity of specific microbial communities, facilitating the degradation of ECs, due to the greater interaction between water and microorganisms and their compact design. Here, we show that an electroactive biofilter can alter the chirality of drugs and herbicides in wastewater treatment, impacting their removal and toxicity. The electrochemical biofilter (BioeF) removed 80% of pharmaceuticals and 50–75% of herbicides, outperforming the conventional filter (ConF). BioeF also showed greater chiral alterations and lower ecotoxicity. This work provides the first evidence of a relationship between changes in contaminant chirality and detoxification capacity, enhanced by electroactive systems. The increased microbial activity observed in the BioeF suggests that bioelectrochemical systems offer a valuable advance for ECs removal and ecotoxicity reduction, addressing the environmental challenge posed by ECs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d07e8af6f297471888acbc986eef744e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2666-4984 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Science and Ecotechnology |
| spelling | doaj-art-d07e8af6f297471888acbc986eef744e2025-08-20T02:15:28ZengElsevierEnvironmental Science and Ecotechnology2666-49842025-01-012310050010.1016/j.ese.2024.100500Enhanced removal of chiral emerging contaminants by an electroactive biofilterÁlvaro Pun0Jesús Valimaña-Traverso1María Ángeles García2María Luisa Marina3Abraham Esteve-Núñez4Karina Boltes5Universidad de Alcalá, Departamento de Química Analítica, Química Física e Ingeniería Química, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33,600, Alcalá de Henares, 28871, Madrid, SpainUniversidad de Alcalá, Departamento de Química Analítica, Química Física e Ingeniería Química, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33,600, Alcalá de Henares, 28871, Madrid, SpainUniversidad de Alcalá, Departamento de Química Analítica, Química Física e Ingeniería Química, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33,600, Alcalá de Henares, 28871, Madrid, Spain; Universidad de Alcalá, Instituto de Investigación Química Andrés M. del Río, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33.600, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, SpainUniversidad de Alcalá, Departamento de Química Analítica, Química Física e Ingeniería Química, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33,600, Alcalá de Henares, 28871, Madrid, Spain; Universidad de Alcalá, Instituto de Investigación Química Andrés M. del Río, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33.600, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, SpainUniversidad de Alcalá, Departamento de Química Analítica, Química Física e Ingeniería Química, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33,600, Alcalá de Henares, 28871, Madrid, Spain; METfilter. Avenida Punto Com, nº 2 - Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá, 28805, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; IMDEA Water Institute, Parque Científico Tecnológico, Alcalá de Henares, 28805, Madrid, SpainUniversidad de Alcalá, Departamento de Química Analítica, Química Física e Ingeniería Química, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33,600, Alcalá de Henares, 28871, Madrid, Spain; IMDEA Water Institute, Parque Científico Tecnológico, Alcalá de Henares, 28805, Madrid, Spain; Corresponding author. Universidad de Alcalá, Departamento de Química Analítica, Química Física e Ingeniería Química, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33,600, Alcalá de Henares, 28871, Madrid, Spain.50% of pharmaceuticals and 25% of herbicides used worldwide are chiral. Each enantiomer has a unique toxicity and biodegradation profile, affecting differently to organisms. Chirality plays a key role in the behavior of these emerging contaminants (ECs) in terms of their pharmacological or herbicidal activity, but this peculiarity is often overlooked in environmental research. The complexity of chiral ECs is underestimated, as the varying sensitivity of biological systems to enantiomers is rarely considered. Biofilters can promote the activity of specific microbial communities, facilitating the degradation of ECs, due to the greater interaction between water and microorganisms and their compact design. Here, we show that an electroactive biofilter can alter the chirality of drugs and herbicides in wastewater treatment, impacting their removal and toxicity. The electrochemical biofilter (BioeF) removed 80% of pharmaceuticals and 50–75% of herbicides, outperforming the conventional filter (ConF). BioeF also showed greater chiral alterations and lower ecotoxicity. This work provides the first evidence of a relationship between changes in contaminant chirality and detoxification capacity, enhanced by electroactive systems. The increased microbial activity observed in the BioeF suggests that bioelectrochemical systems offer a valuable advance for ECs removal and ecotoxicity reduction, addressing the environmental challenge posed by ECs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666498424001145ChiralityEmerging contaminantsMicrobial electrochemical technologiesEcotoxicityCapillary electrophoresis |
| spellingShingle | Álvaro Pun Jesús Valimaña-Traverso María Ángeles García María Luisa Marina Abraham Esteve-Núñez Karina Boltes Enhanced removal of chiral emerging contaminants by an electroactive biofilter Environmental Science and Ecotechnology Chirality Emerging contaminants Microbial electrochemical technologies Ecotoxicity Capillary electrophoresis |
| title | Enhanced removal of chiral emerging contaminants by an electroactive biofilter |
| title_full | Enhanced removal of chiral emerging contaminants by an electroactive biofilter |
| title_fullStr | Enhanced removal of chiral emerging contaminants by an electroactive biofilter |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhanced removal of chiral emerging contaminants by an electroactive biofilter |
| title_short | Enhanced removal of chiral emerging contaminants by an electroactive biofilter |
| title_sort | enhanced removal of chiral emerging contaminants by an electroactive biofilter |
| topic | Chirality Emerging contaminants Microbial electrochemical technologies Ecotoxicity Capillary electrophoresis |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666498424001145 |
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