Identification of transformation products of emerging contaminants during tertiary treatment processes and their disposal in the environment by mass spectrometric techniques

Η διαθέσιμη βιβλιογραφία έχει καταδείξει την ατελή απομάκρυνση των αναδυόμενων ρύπων κατά τη βιολογική επεξεργασία που λαμβάνει χώρα στα Κέντρα Επεξεργασίας Λυμάτων (ΚΕΛ). Παρόλο που ο πρωταρχικός ρόλος της τριτοβάθμιας επεξεργασίας είναι η εξάλειψη των μικρορύπων, το παρεχόμενο οξειδωτικό μέσο αντιδρά με τους αναδυόμενους ρύπους, καταλήγοντας στο σχηματισμό άγνωστων προϊόντων μετασχηματισμού. Ο κύριος στόχος της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας ήταν η διερεύνηση της απομάκρυνσης αναδυόμενων ρύπων καθώς και η ταυτοποίηση των προϊόντων μετασχηματισμού τους, τα οποία παράγονται κατά τις μεθόδους απολύμανσης που εφαρμόζονται σαν τριτοβάθμια επεξεργασία στα ΚΕΛ. Αρχικά παρουσιάζεται μια εισαγωγή για τους αναδυόμενους ρύπους και τον πιθανό μετασχηματισμό τους κατά τη διάρκεια των διεργασιών που εφαρμόζονται στα ΚΕΛ, και ιδιαιτέρως κατά τη διάρκεια της χλωρίωσης και οζόνωσης. Στη συνέχεια παρουσιάζονται συγκεκριμένες πορείες εργασίας και τεχνικές σχετικές με την ταυτοποίηση αναδυόμενων ρύπων και των προϊόντων μετασχηματισμού τους, οι οποίες βασίζονται σε αναλύσεις φασματομετρίας μάζας υψηλής διακριτικής ικανότητας. Το πειραματικό μέρος της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας αποτελείται από τα ακόλουθα τρία μέρη: (α) Χλωρίωση βενζοτριαζολών και βενζοθειαζολών και ταυτοποίηση των προϊόντων μετασχηματισμού τους με υγροχρωματογραφία συζευγμένη με φασματομετρία μάζας υψηλής διακριτικής ικανότητας (Κεφάλαιο 3), (β) Οζόνωση ρανιτιδίνης: επίδραση των πειραματικών συνθηκών και ταυτοποίηση προϊόντων μετασχηματισμού (Κεφάλαιο 4) και (γ) Απομάκρυνση και μετασχηματισμός της σιταλοπράμης και τεσσάρων προϊόντων βιομετατροπής της κατά τη διάρκεια πειραμάτων οζόνωσης (Κεφάλαιο 5). Είναι πεποίθησή μας πως οι μελέτες αυτές θα συνεισφέρουν στην περαιτέρω ανάπτυξη της περιβαλλοντικής ανάλυσης, διεγείροντας το ενδιαφέρον των κανονιστικών αρχών, σχετικά με την ενσωμάτωση επιβλαβών προϊόντων μετασχηματισμού, τα οποία παράγονται κατά την τριτοβάθμια επεξεργασία των ΚΕΛ, σε ελέγχους ρουτίνας.The incomplete removal of emerging pollutants during the biological treatment applied in WWTPs is highly indicated by the existing literature. Although the primary purpose of tertiary treatment processes is the elimination of micropollutants, the provided oxidant agent reacts with emerging pollutants, leading to the formation of unknown transformation products. The main objectives of this thesis were the investigation of the removal of emerging pollutants and the identification of their transformation products which are produced during the disinfection methods that are applied as tertiary treatment is WWTPs. Initially, an introduction on emerging pollutants and their probable transformation during the processes that are applied in WWTPs, and especially during chlorination and ozonation, is presented. Specific workflows and techniques for the identification of emerging contaminants and their transformation products, based on high-resolution mass spectrometric analysis, are then presented. The experimental section of this thesis is constituted of the following three parts: (i) Chlorination of benzothiazoles and benzotriazoles and transformation products identification by LC-HR-MS/MS (Chapter 3), (ii) Ozonation of ranitidine: effect of experimental parameters and identification of transformation products (Chapter 4) and (iii) Removal and transformation of citalopram and four of its biotransformation products during ozonation experiments (Chapter 5). It is our strong belief that these studies will constitute a step forward in environmental analysis, by arousing the regulatory authorities concern, regarding that harmful transformation products produced during tertiary treatment processes in WWTPs, should also be incorporated in routine monitoring

Degradation and by-products identification of benzothiazoles and benzotriazoles during chlorination by LC-HR-MS/MS

Nowadays, chlorination is the most prevalent disinfection method applied for water treatment in Europe. Chlorine can be supplied as sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) which reacts in water to produce the disinfectants hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and hypochlorite ion (OCl-), otherwise known as free chlorine. Although the primary purpose of chlorination is the elimination of micropollutants via oxidation, several investigations have shown that chlorine reacts with micropollutants leading in the production of undesired by-products. 1,3-benzothiazoles (BTHs) and 1,2,3-benzotriazoles (BTRs) are classified as high production volume emerging environmental pollutants due to their broad industrial and domestic application, and even though recently several analytical methods have been applied for their determination , there is still a lack of research for their by-products’ identification. Initially, the degradation of three BTHs (BTH, 2-OH-BTH and 2-amino-BTH) and four BTRs (1-H-BTRi, TTRi, XTRi and 1-OH-BTRi) during chlorination was investigated by UHPLC-MS/MS (QqQ). Although chlorination appeared to be an insufficient degradation process for BTH and 1-H-BTRi, all their examined substituted derivatives seem to be significantly degraded when the molar ratio of sodium hypochlorite and the target analytes was between 5000:1 – 1000:1. Then, LC high resolution MS/MS (q-TOFMS) was used to investigate the formation of by-products in the chlorinated samples. Two suspect by-products of 2-amino-BTH and one of XTRi were tentatively identified based on their probable structure, mass accuracy, retention time and fragmentation and isotopic pattern. An interesting observation was the formation of 1-H-BTRi as a degradation product of 1-OH-BTRi during chlorination. Moreover, post-acquisition non-target treatment of the MS data revealed several unknown by-products of the tested analytes

The Potential of Sewage Sludge to Predict and Evaluate the Human Chemical Exposome

Chemicals are part of our daily lives, and we are exposed to numerous chemicals through multiple pathways. Relevant scientific evidence contributing to the regulation of hazardous chemicals require a holistic approach to assess simultaneous exposure to multiple compounds. Biomonitoring provides an accurate estimation of exposure to chemicals through very complex and costly sampling campaigns. Finding efficient proxies to predict the risk of chemical exposure in humans is an urgent need to cover large areas and populations at a reasonable cost. We conducted an exploratory study to characterize the human chemical exposome in maternal blood and placenta samples of a population-based birth cohort in Barcelona (2018-2021). Ultimate HRMS-based approaches were applied including wide-scope target, suspect, and nontarget screening. Forty-two chemicals were identified including pesticides, personal care products, or industrial compounds, among others, in the range of ng/mL and ng/g. In parallel, sewage sludge from the wastewater treatment plants serving the residence areas of the studied population were also screened, showing correlations with the type and concentrations of chemicals found in humans. Our findings were suggestive for the potential use of sewage sludge as a proxy of the human exposure and its application in early warning systems to prevent bioaccumulation of hazardous chemicals.This work received support from the “La Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434), fellowship code LCF/BQ/PR20/11770013, and Barcelona Council (Expo-Bar). The BiSC cohort study is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under Grant Agreement No. 785994 (AIR-NB), and the Health Effects Institute (HEI) with Grant Agreement No. 4959-RFPA15-1/ 18-1 (FRONTIER). IDAEA-CSIC and ISGlobal are Centres of Excellence Severo Ochoa (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation).Peer reviewe

Making use of apex predator sample collections: an integrated workflow for quality assured sample processing, analysis and digital sample freezing of archived samples

Using monitoring data from apex predators for chemicals risk assessment can provide important information on bioaccumulating as well as biomagnifying chemicals in food webs. A survey among European institutions involved in chemical risk assessment on their experiences with apex predator data in chemical risk assessment revealed great interest in using such data. However, the respondents indicated that constraints were related to expected high costs, lack of standardisation and harmonised quality criteria for exposure assessment, data access, and regulatory acceptance/application. During the Life APEX project, we demonstrated that European sample collections (i.e. environmental specimen banks (ESBs), research collection (RCs), natural history museums (NHMs)) archive a large variety of biological samples that can be readily used for chemical analysis once appropriate quality assurance/control (QA/QC) measures have been developed and implemented. We therefore issued a second survey on sampling, processing and archiving procedures in European sample collections to derive key quality QA/QC criteria for chemical analysis. The survey revealed great differences in QA/QC measures between ESBs, NHMs and RCs. Whereas basic information such as sampling location, date and biometric data were mostly available across institutions, protocols to accompany the sampling strategy with respect to chemical analysis were only available for ESBs. For RCs, the applied QA/QC measures vary with the respective research question, whereas NHMs are generally less aware of e.g. chemical cross-contamination issues. Based on the survey we derived key indicators for assessing the quality of biota samples that can be easily implemented in online databases. Furthermore, we provide a QA/QC workflow not only for sampling and processing but also for the chemical analysis of biota samples. We focussed on comprehensive analytical techniques such as non-target screening and provided insights into subsequent storage of high-resolution chromatograms in online databases (i.e. digital sample freezing platform) to ultimately support chemicals risk assessment

Cabbage and fermented vegetables : From death rate heterogeneity in countries to candidates for mitigation strategies of severe COVID-19

Large differences in COVID-19 death rates exist between countries and between regions of the same country. Some very low death rate countries such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, or the Balkans have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods. Although biases exist when examining ecological studies, fermented vegetables or cabbage have been associated with low death rates in European countries. SARS-CoV-2 binds to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). As a result of SARS-CoV-2 binding, ACE2 downregulation enhances the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT(1)R) axis associated with oxidative stress. This leads to insulin resistance as well as lung and endothelial damage, two severe outcomes of COVID-19. The nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is the most potent antioxidant in humans and can block in particular the AT(1)R axis. Cabbage contains precursors of sulforaphane, the most active natural activator of Nrf2. Fermented vegetables contain many lactobacilli, which are also potent Nrf2 activators. Three examples are: kimchi in Korea, westernized foods, and the slum paradox. It is proposed that fermented cabbage is a proof-of-concept of dietary manipulations that may enhance Nrf2-associated antioxidant effects, helpful in mitigating COVID-19 severity.Peer reviewe

Nrf2-interacting nutrients and COVID-19 : time for research to develop adaptation strategies

There are large between- and within-country variations in COVID-19 death rates. Some very low death rate settings such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, the Balkans and Africa have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods whose intake is associated with the activation of the Nrf2 (Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2) anti-oxidant transcription factor. There are many Nrf2-interacting nutrients (berberine, curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, quercetin, resveratrol, sulforaphane) that all act similarly to reduce insulin resistance, endothelial damage, lung injury and cytokine storm. They also act on the same mechanisms (mTOR: Mammalian target of rapamycin, PPAR gamma:Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, NF kappa B: Nuclear factor kappa B, ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinases and eIF2 alpha:Elongation initiation factor 2 alpha). They may as a result be important in mitigating the severity of COVID-19, acting through the endoplasmic reticulum stress or ACE-Angiotensin-II-AT(1)R axis (AT(1)R) pathway. Many Nrf2-interacting nutrients are also interacting with TRPA1 and/or TRPV1. Interestingly, geographical areas with very low COVID-19 mortality are those with the lowest prevalence of obesity (Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia). It is tempting to propose that Nrf2-interacting foods and nutrients can re-balance insulin resistance and have a significant effect on COVID-19 severity. It is therefore possible that the intake of these foods may restore an optimal natural balance for the Nrf2 pathway and may be of interest in the mitigation of COVID-19 severity