Use of respirometer and LC/MS techniques to study the sorption and biodegradation of endocrine disrupting compounds in sludge

The overall objective of this study was to determine the sorption properties and the biodegradation potential of six selected endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). An OxymaxRTM respirometer was used as the main experimental tool to simulate the activated sludge process in the aerobic basin of wastewater treatment plants. With EDCs being the sole carbon source, the biodegradation based on O2 consumption reached up to 90%, 89%, 84% and 80% for testosterone, estriol (E3), estrone (E1), and estradiol (E2), respectively. Biodegradation of these natural or endogenous compounds commenced after an initial lag phase of 7--14 days. The lag times decreased with each successive experiment as the bacteria acclimated to the chemicals. No mineralization was noted for two xenobiotic compounds, ethynyl estradiol (EE2) and nonylphenol (NP). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...