Identification of Transformation Products for Benzotriazole, Triclosan, and Trimethoprim by Aerobic and Anoxic-Activated Sludge
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 9
Abstract
This study identified biotransformation products formed from three anthropogenic trace organic compounds (TOrCs) (benzotriazole, triclosan, and trimethoprim) in aerobic and anoxic sludge from a biological nutrient removal (BNR) wastewater treatment system. Liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF) was used to identify intermediate transformation products. A user-defined compound library was used to target unknowns in samples with a mix of TOrCs without requiring chemical standards and developed using EAWAG-BDD predictive software, which included 37 potential transformation products. Biotransformation batch experiments were conducted using activated sludge from anoxic and aerobic redox regimes of a BNR treatment plant located in Southern Nevada, United States. Four intermediates were observed for benzotriazole in both aerobic and anoxic activated sludge, which consisted of two isomers of hydroxy benzotriazole and two isomers of methoxy benzotriazole. Four intermediates were observed for trimethoprim under aerobic conditions, which formed 2,4-diaminopyrimidin-5-yl)(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)methanol (TMP 306) and 2,6-diamino-5-hydroxy-5-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzyl)-5,6-dihydropyrimidin-4(1H)-one (TMP 324) and two demethylation isomers of desmethyl trimethoprim. Triclosan had one confirmed transformation product, triclosan-o-sulfate, formed in both conditions. The identification of these transformation products will allow for more thorough risk assessments to be performed for the target TOrCs.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) acknowledges the Water Research Foundation (Project No. U2R13/4874) are funders of certain technical information upon which this publication is based. SNWA thanks the Water Research Foundation, for their financial, technical, and administrative assistance in funding the project through which this information was discovered. The authors would like to acknowledge support from the SNWA: Janie Zeigler-Holady and Brittney Hornbeck for their assistance with the analysis of TOrCs and David Rexing and Jennifer Fuel for administrative support.
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Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 9 • September 2020
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This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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Received: Jul 30, 2019
Accepted: Oct 22, 2019
Published online: Jun 18, 2020
Published in print: Sep 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Nov 18, 2020
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