Sorption removal of phthalate esters and bisphenols to biofilms from urban river: From macroscopic to microcosmic investigation.

River biofilms play fundamental roles in shaping the architecture of aquatic systems. Sorption to biofilms was thought to be a crucial mechanism controlling the fate and transport of trace emerging contaminants. This study focused on the role of in situ colonized river biofilms in the early fate of phthalate esters (PAEs) and bisphenols (BPs) at trace concentrations in a representative urban river. PAEs and BPs were readily sorbed to biofilms with uptakes of 38.2-162.5 μg/g for PAEs and 1787.7-4425.6 μg/g for BPs, respectively. The total mass and characteristics of the colonized biofilms varied in response to seasons and water qualities. The biofilm colonized in the downstream of a wastewater treatment plant exhibited the highest sorption capacity among the tested sites, possibly attributed to the higher organic contents of biofilms owing to the elevated availability of nutrients. Correlation analysis indicates that certain water qualities, e.g., TN and NH ₃ N, and biofilm properties, e.g., organic and polysaccharide fractions could be selected to predict the sorption capacities of river biofilms. Hydrophobic partitioning into organic matter appears to be the dominant sorption mechanism and biofilm polysaccharides were probably responsible for the adhesion of tested compounds. The contaminant partitioning into biofilm and sediment at mass/volume ratios typical for small rivers suggests that the biofilm could serve as an important sorbing matrix for the trace organic contaminants as compared to the sediments. Our work yields new insights into the early uptake and accumulation of trace plasticizers by natural biofilms, which is of significance in understanding the subsequent transport of trace organic contaminants in fluvial systems.
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