title: Detection of methoxylated and hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls in sewage sludge in China with evidence for their microbial transformation.
abstract: The concentrations of methoxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (MeO-PCBs) and hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) were measured in the sewage sludge samples collected from twelve wastewater treatment plants in China. Two MeO-PCB congeners, including 3'-MeO-CB-65 and 4'-MeO-CB-101, were detected in three sludge with mean concentrations of 0.58 and 0.52 ng/g dry weight, respectively. OH-PCBs were detected in eight sludge samples, with an average total concentration of 4.2 ng/g dry weight. Furthermore, laboratory exposure was conducted to determine the possible source of OH-PCBs and MeO-PCBs in the sewage sludge, and their metabolism by the microbes. Both 4'-OH-CB-101 and 4'-MeO-CB-101 were detected as metabolites of CB-101 at a limited conversion rate after 5 days. Importantly, microbial interconversion between OH-PCBs and MeO-PCBs was observed in sewage sludge. Demethylation of MeO-PCBs was favored over methylation of OH-PCBs. The abundant and diverse microbes in sludge play a key role in the transformation processes of the PCB analogues. To our knowledge, this is the first report on MeO-PCBs in environmental matrices and on OH-PCBs in sewage sludge. The findings are important to understand the environmental fate of PCBs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Organic Pollution Process and Control, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: Jianteng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Organic Pollution Process and Control, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: Lizhong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Analysis and Measurement Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: Zi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: Yuduo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: THUNIP Holdings Co., Ltd., Beijing 100020, China.
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhan
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002681:China; D005843:Geography; D006900:Hydroxylation; D008697:Methane / Q000737:chemistry; D008745:Methylation; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; D008697:Methane; D010100:Oxygen