Biodegradation of ciprofloxacin in a continuous anaerobic hybrid reactor conglomerating attached and suspended growth system
By: Debleena Bhattacharya, S.K. Gupta
Key Words: Pharmaceutical, Anaerobic hybrid reactor, Ciprofloxacin, Biodegradation, Intermediates.
J. Bio. Env. Sci. 8(6), 74-86, June 2016.
[Generate Certificate]Abstract
The detection of antibiotics in the natural surroundings needs immediate attention to control antibiotic pollution in the precious water resources and avoid generation of antibiotic resistant strains. The present study investigated the biodegradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) containing wastewater in a continuous lab-scale anaerobic hybrid reactor (AHR), which conglomerates the dual advantages of attached and suspended growth. The reactor was started with the inoculum sludge, historically been exposed to the pharmaceutical residuals and fed with simulated synthetic wastewater for its acclimation to higher COD concentrations (1000 mg/L). CIP was then gradually infused in the bioreactor from 0.5 to 10 mg/L for acclimation of microorganisms till it attained CIP removal >90%. The acclimation study revealed that AHR could sustain CIP concentration as high as 5 mg/L beyond which the process severely got deteriorated. Zone of inhibition study was carried out to assess the tolerance level of bacterial strains to varying CIP concentrations. MS-QToF analysis of effluent samples identified 8 new organic intermediates. The anaerobic hybrid reactor proved to be a significant mode to control the pollution caused by the above group of antibiotics.
