Investigating the fate of iodinated X-ray contrast media iohexol and diatrizoate during microbial degradation in an MBBR system treating urban wastewater

摘要

The capability of a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) to remove the iodinated contrast media (ICM) iohexol (IOX) and diatrizoate (DTZ) from municipal wastewater was studied. A selected number of clones of microorganisms present in the biofilm were identified. Biotransformation products were tentatively identified and the toxicity of the treated effluent was assessed. Microbial samples were DNA-sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic analysis in order to confirm the identity of the microorganisms present and determine the microbial diversity. The analysis demonstrated that the wastewater was populated by a bacterial consortium related to different members of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Nitrisporae. The optimum removal values of the ICM achieved were 79 % for IOX and 73 % for DTZ, whereas 13 biotransformation products for IOX and 14 for DTZ were identified. Their determination was performed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.