New insights into vermiremediation of sewage sludge: The effect of earthworms on micropollutants and vice versa

0582114 - MBÚ 2024 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Grasserová, Alena - Navarro Pacheco, Natividad Isabel - Semerád, Jaroslav - Filipová, Alena - Innemanová, P. - Hanč, A. - Procházková, Petra - Cajthaml, Tomáš
New insights into vermiremediation of sewage sludge: The effect of earthworms on micropollutants and vice versa.
Waste Management. Roč. 174, February 15 (2024), s. 496-508. ISSN 0956-053X. E-ISSN 1879-2456
R&D Projects: GA MZe(CZ) QK1910095
Institutional support: RVO:61388971
Keywords : halogenated flame retardants * eisenia-foetida * perfluoroalkyl substances * immune-system * cow manure * soil * bioaccumulation * biosolids * waste * pollutants * Vermicomposting * Per/polyfluoroalkyl substances * Pharmaceuticals and personal care products * Bioaccumulation * Vermiremediation * Cytotoxicity
OECD category: Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7)
Impact factor: 8.1, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956053X23007535?via%3Dihub

Vermicomposting represents an environmentally friendly method for the treatment of various types of biowastes, including sewage sludge (SS), as documented in numerous studies. However, there are few papers providing insights into the mechanisms and toxicity effects involved in SS vermicomposting to present a comprehensive overview of the process. In this work, the vermiremediation of SS containing various micropollutants, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disruptors, and per/polyfluoroalkyl substances, was studied. Two SSs originating from different wastewater treatment plants (WWTP1 and WWTP2) were mixed with a bulking agent, moistened straw, at ratios of 0, 25, 50, and 75% SS. Eisenia andrei earthworms were introduced into the mixtures, and after six weeks, the resulting materials were subjected to various types of chemical and toxicological analyses, including conventional assays (mortality, weight) as well as tissue- and cell-level assays, such as malondialdehyde production, cytotoxicity tests and gene expression assays. Through the vermiremediation process significant removal of diclofenac (90%), metoprolol (88%), telmisartan (62%), and triclosan (81%) was achieved. Although the concentrations of micropollutants were substantially different in the original SS samples, the micropollutants vermiaccumulated to a similar extent over the incubation period. The earthworms substantially eliminated the present bacterial populations, especially in the 75% SS treatments, in which the average declines were 90 and 79% for WWTP1 and WWTP2, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the vermiremediation of such a large group of micropollutants in real SS samples and provide a thorough evaluation of the effect of SS on earthworms at tissue and cellular level.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0351697