TY - JOUR
T1 - Toxicity of N-substituted aromatics to acetoclastic methanogenic activity in granular sludge
AU - Donlon, B. A.
AU - Razo-Flores, E.
AU - Field, J. A.
AU - Lettinga, G.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 1995
Y1 - 1995
N2 - N-substituted aromatics are important priority pollutants entering the environment primarily through anthropogenic activities associated with the industrial production of dyes, explosives, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. Anaerobic treatment of wastewaters discharged by these industries could potentially be problematical as a result of the high toxicity of N- substituted aromatics. The objective of this study was to examine the structure-toxicity relationships of N-substituted aromatic compounds to acetoclastic methanogenic bacteria. The toxicity was assayed in serum flasks by measuring methane production in granular sludge. Unacclimated cultures were used to minimize the biotransformation of the toxic organic chemicals during the test. The nature and the degree of the aromatic substitution were observed to have a profound effect on the toxicity of the test compound. Nitroaromatic compounds were, on the average, over 500-fold more toxic than their corresponding aromatic amines. Considering the facile reduction of nitro groups by anaerobic microorganisms, a dramatic detoxification of nitroaromatics towards methanogens can be expected to occur during anaerobic wastewater treatment. While the toxicity exerted by the N-substituted aromatic compounds was closely correlated with compound apolarity (log P), it was observed that at any given log P, N-substituted phenols had a toxicity that was 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of chlorophenols and alkylphenols. This indicates that toxicity due to the chemical reactivity of nitroaromatics is much more important than partitioning effects in bacterial membranes.
AB - N-substituted aromatics are important priority pollutants entering the environment primarily through anthropogenic activities associated with the industrial production of dyes, explosives, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. Anaerobic treatment of wastewaters discharged by these industries could potentially be problematical as a result of the high toxicity of N- substituted aromatics. The objective of this study was to examine the structure-toxicity relationships of N-substituted aromatic compounds to acetoclastic methanogenic bacteria. The toxicity was assayed in serum flasks by measuring methane production in granular sludge. Unacclimated cultures were used to minimize the biotransformation of the toxic organic chemicals during the test. The nature and the degree of the aromatic substitution were observed to have a profound effect on the toxicity of the test compound. Nitroaromatic compounds were, on the average, over 500-fold more toxic than their corresponding aromatic amines. Considering the facile reduction of nitro groups by anaerobic microorganisms, a dramatic detoxification of nitroaromatics towards methanogens can be expected to occur during anaerobic wastewater treatment. While the toxicity exerted by the N-substituted aromatic compounds was closely correlated with compound apolarity (log P), it was observed that at any given log P, N-substituted phenols had a toxicity that was 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of chlorophenols and alkylphenols. This indicates that toxicity due to the chemical reactivity of nitroaromatics is much more important than partitioning effects in bacterial membranes.
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U2 - 10.1128/aem.61.11.3889-3893.1995
DO - 10.1128/aem.61.11.3889-3893.1995
M3 - Article
C2 - 8526501
AN - SCOPUS:0028809786
VL - 61
SP - 3889
EP - 3893
JO - Applied and Environmental Microbiology
JF - Applied and Environmental Microbiology
SN - 0099-2240
IS - 11
ER -