Effects of triclosan, diclofenac, and nonylphenol on mesophilic and thermophilic methanogenic activity and on the methanogenic communities

In this study, a toxicity assay using a mesophilic wastewater treatment plant sludge-based (SI) and a thermophilic manure-based inoculum (MI), under different biomass concentrations was performed to define the effects of diclofenac (DCF), triclosan (TCS), and nonylphenol (NP) on anaerobic digestion (AD) process. Additionally, the influence of DCF, TCS, and NP on the relative abundance of the methanogenic populations was investigated. Results obtained demonstrated that, in terms of methane production, SI inoculum was more resistant to the toxicity effect of DCF, TCS, and NP, compared to the MI inoculum. The IC50 values were 546, 35, and 363mgL-1 for SI inoculum and 481, 32, and 74mgL-1 for MI inoculum for DCF, TCS, and NP, respectively. For both inocula, higher biomass concentrations reduced the toxic effect of TCS (higher methane production up to 64%), contrary to DCF, where higher biomass loads decreased methane yield up to 31%. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed that hydrogenotrophic methanogens were more resistant to the inhibitory effect of DCF, TCS, and NP compared to aceticlastic methanogens.