Microbial toxicity and biodegradability of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and shorter chain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)

Ochoa‐Herrera, Valeria; Field, Jim A.; Luna-Velasco, Antonia; Sierra-Álvarez, Reyes

doi:10.1039/c6em00366d

Cited by 84 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Biodegradation of PFASs has not yet been demonstrated (Colosi et al., ; Liu & Mejia Avendano, ; Luo et al., ; Ochoa‐Herrera, Field, Luna‐Velasco, & Sierra‐Alvarez, ). Biodegradation is defined as the process by which organic substances are decomposed by microorganisms (mainly aerobic bacteria) into substances such as carbon dioxide, water, and ammonia (OECD, ).…”

Section: Treatment Of Pfassmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of emerging technologies for remediation of PFASs

Ross

McDonough

Miles

et al. 2018

Remediation Journal

408

268

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The need for remediation of poly‐ and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is growing as a result of more regulatory attention to this new class of contaminants with diminishing water quality standards being promulgated, commonly in the parts per trillion range. PFASs comprise >3,000 individual compounds, but the focus of analyses and regulations has generally been PFASs termed perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), which are all extremely persistent, can be highly mobile, and are increasingly being reported to bioaccumulate, with understanding of their toxicology evolving. However, there are thousands of polyfluorinated “PFAA precursors”, which can transform in the environment and in higher organisms to create PFAAs as persistent daughter products. Some PFASs can travel miles from their point of release, as they are mobile and persistent, potentially creating large plumes. The use of a conceptual site model (CSM) to define risks posed by specific PFASs to potential receptors is considered essential. Granular activated carbon (GAC) is commonly used as part of interim remedial measures to treat PFASs present in water. Many alternative treatment technologies are being adapted for PFASs or ingenious solutions developed. The diversity of PFASs commonly associated with use of multiple PFASs in commercial products is not commonly assessed. Remedial technologies, which are adsorptive or destructive, are considered for both soils and waters with challenges to their commercial application outlined. Biological approaches to treat PFASs report biotransformation which creates persistent PFAAs, no PFASs can biodegrade. Water treatment technologies applied ex situ could be used in a treatment train approach, for example, to concentrate PFASs and then destroy them on‐site. Dynamic groundwater recirculation can greatly enhance contaminant mass removal via groundwater pumping. This review of technologies for remediation of PFASs describes that: GAC may be effective for removal of long‐chain PFAAs, but does not perform well on short‐chain PFAAs and its use for removal of precursors is reported to be less effective; Anion‐exchange resins can remove a wider array of long‐ and short‐chain PFAAs, but struggle to treat the shortest chain PFAAs and removal of most PFAA precursors has not been evaluated; Ozofractionation has been applied for PFASs at full scale and shown to be effective for removal of total PFASs; Chemical oxidation has been demonstrated to be potentially applicable for some PFAAs, but when applied in situ there is concern over the formation of shorter chain PFAAs and ongoing rebound from sorbed precursors; Electrochemical oxidation is evolving as a destructive technology for many PFASs, but can create undesirable by‐products such as perchlorate and bromate; Sonolysis has been demonstrated as a potential destructive technology in the laboratory but there are significant challenges when considering scale up; Soils stabilization approaches are evolving and have been used at full scale but performance need to be assessed usin...

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Section: Treatment Of Pfassmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of emerging technologies for remediation of PFASs

Ross

McDonough

Miles

et al. 2018

Remediation Journal

408

268

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Comparatively, bacteria (e.g., Dehalococcoides and Rhodococcus jostii RHA1) were negatively impacted by perfluoroalkyl acids (Weathers, Harding‐Marjanovic, Higgins, Alvarez‐Cohen, & Sharp, ; Weathers, Higgins, & Sharp, ), and the bacterial community in aerobic river sediment was observed to decrease in diversity with PFOA exposure (>100 nanograms per gram dry weight in sediment; Sun, Wang, Peng, Wang, & Lu, ). Hydrogenotrophic methanogens from anaerobic sludge were also inhibited by 500 mg PFOS/L, but other PFASs tested, such as PFBS, PFPrA, and PFPeA, did not inhibit methanogenesis (Ochoa‐Herrera, Field, Luna‐Velasco, & Sierra‐Alvarez, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal biotransformation of 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol

Merino

Wang

Ambrocio

et al. 2018

Remediation Journal

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Fungal degradation of 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (6:2 FTOH, C 6 F 13 CH 2 CH 2 OH) by two wooddecaying fungal strains and six fungal isolates from a site contaminated with per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) was investigated. 6:2 FTOH is increasingly being used in FTOH-based products, and previous reports on the microbial fate of 6:2 FTOH have focused on bacteria and environmental microbial consortia. Prior to this study, one report demonstrated that the 6:2 FTOH biotransformation by the wood-decaying fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, generated more polyfluoroalkyl substances, such as 5:3 acid (F(CF 2 ) 5 CH 2 CH 2 COOH), and diverted away from producing the highly stable perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs). Most of the fungi (Gloeophyllum trabeum and isolates TW4-2, TW4-1, B79, and B76) examined in this study showed similar degradation patterns, further demonstrating that fungi yield more 5:3 acid (up to 51 mol% of initial 6:2 FTOH dosed) relative to other metabolites (up to 12 mol% total PFCAs). However, medium amendments can potentially improve 6:2 FTOH biotransformation rates and product profiles. The six fungal isolates tolerated up to 100 or 1,000 milligrams per liter of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, and some isolates experienced increased growth with increasing concentrations. This study proposes that fungal pathways must be considered for the biotransformation of potential PFAS precursors, such as 6:2 FTOH, and suggests the basis for selecting proper microorganisms for remediation of fluoroalkyl-contaminated sites.

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“…Although there are laboratory studies showing that these compounds can be catalysed by enzymatic systems (Liu and Mejia Avendano, ), there are so far no reports on microbial degradation of PFOS and PFOA compounds under natural conditions (Casal et al ., ). Furthermore, a recent attempt to study microbial degradation of PFOS and PFOA (and polyfluorinated homologues) in wastewater sludge showed no conclusive proof for microbial degradation (Ochoa‐Herrera et al ., ). Still, there is research showing that these pollutants cause for example luminescence inhibition in the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri and the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Direct effects of organic pollutants on the growth and gene expression of the Baltic Sea model bacteriumRheinheimerasp.BAL341

Karlsson

Cerro‐Gálvez

Lundin

et al. 2019

Microbial Biotechnology

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Summary Organic pollutants (OPs) are critically toxic, bioaccumulative and globally widespread. Moreover, several OPs negatively influence aquatic wildlife. Although bacteria are major drivers of the ocean carbon cycle and the turnover of vital elements, there is limited knowledge of OP effects on heterotrophic bacterioplankton. We therefore investigated growth and gene expression responses of the Baltic Sea model bacterium Rheinheimera sp. BAL341 to environmentally relevant concentrations of distinct classes of OPs in 2‐h incubation experiments. During exponential growth, exposure to a mix of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alkanes and organophosphate esters (denoted MIX) resulted in a significant decrease (between 9% and 18%) in bacterial abundance and production compared with controls. In contrast, combined exposure to perfluorooctanesulfonic acids and perfluorooctanoic acids (denoted PFAS) had no significant effect on growth. Nevertheless, MIX and PFAS exposures both induced significant shifts in gene expression profiles compared with controls in exponential growth. This involved several functional metabolism categories (e.g. stress response and fatty acids metabolism), some of which were pollutant‐specific (e.g. phosphate acquisition and alkane‐1 monooxygenase genes). In stationary phase, only two genes in the MIX treatment were significantly differentially expressed. The substantial direct influence of OPs on metabolism during bacterial growth suggests that widespread OPs could severely alter biogeochemical processes governed by bacterioplankton.

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Microbial toxicity and biodegradability of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and shorter chain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)

Cited by 84 publications

References 50 publications

A review of emerging technologies for remediation of PFASs

A review of emerging technologies for remediation of PFASs

Fungal biotransformation of 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol

Direct effects of organic pollutants on the growth and gene expression of the Baltic Sea model bacteriumRheinheimerasp.BAL341

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