Response of Fungi-Microalgae Pellets to Copper Regulation in the Removal of Sulfonamides and Release of Dissolved Organic Matters

Abstract

Both sulfonamides (SAs) and copper (Cu(II)) were frequently detected together in swine wastewater. In this study, the regulation of Cu(II) on SAs adsorption and release of dissolved organic matters (DOMs) by fungi-microalgae pellets (FM-pellets) were investigated. Aspergillus oryzae pellets were prepared for the combination with Chlorella vulgaris, and the highest combination efficiency was 98.65%. The results showed that adsorption was the main mechanism for SAs removal. FM-pellets exhibited a high SAs adsorption potential within 6 h. Furthermore, the removal performance of SMZ, SMM and SMX were greatly promoted in the presence of Cu(II) through ion exchange and adsorption bridging. The response mechanism of FM-pellets to Cu(II) showed that protein-like substances and NADH in DOMs released by FM-pellets formed complexes with Cu(II) to alleviate the damage on the organism. These findings provide new insights into the mechanism and response of Cu(II) in in the removal of SAs by FM-pellets.

Keywords: Adsorption, Copper, Dissolved organic matters, Fungi-microalgae pellets, Sulfonamides