Nitrofurazone Removal from Water Enhanced by Coupling Photocatalysis and Biodegradation

• Main Authors: Wojciech Smułek, Zuzanna Bielan, Amanda Pacholak, Agata Zdarta, Agnieszka Zgoła-Grześkowiak, Anna Zielińska-Jurek, Ewa Kaczorek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: photocatalysis; biodegradation; nitrofurazone; photodegradation; pharmaceuticals; TiO₂
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/4/2186
• ISSN: 1661-6596; 1422-0067

(1) Background: Environmental contamination with antibiotics is particularly serious because the usual methods used in wastewater treatment plants turn out to be insufficient or ineffective. An interesting idea is to support natural biodegradation processes with physicochemical methods as well as with bioaugmentation with efficient microbial degraders. Hence, the aim of our study is evaluation of the effectiveness of different methods of nitrofurazone (NFZ) degradation: photolysis and photodegradation in the presence of two photocatalysts, the commercial TiO₂-P25 and a self-obtained Fe₃O₄@SiO₂/TiO₂ magnetic photocatalyst. (2) Methods: The chemical nature of the photocatalysis products was investigated using a spectrometric method, and then, they were subjected to biodegradation using the strain <i>Achromobacter xylosoxidans</i> NFZ2. Additionally, the effects of the photodegradation products on bacterial cell surface properties and membranes were studied. (3) Results: Photocatalysis with TiO₂-P25 allowed reduction of NFZ by over 90%, demonstrating that this method is twice as effective as photolysis alone. Moreover, the bacterial strain used proved to be effective in the removal of NFZ, as well as its intermediates. (4) Conclusions: The results indicated that photocatalysis alone or coupled with biodegradation with the strain <i>A. xylosoxidans</i> NFZ2 leads to efficient degradation and almost complete mineralization of NFZ.