Anaerobic degradation of tetrabromobisphenol-A in river sediment

The contamination of the environment with tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA), an endocrine disruptor, is a concern. We examined anaerobic degradation of TBBPA in sediment samples from the Erren River in southern Taiwan. Anaerobic degradation of TBBPA was enhanced with the addition of humic acid (0.5gL−1), sodium chloride (1mass/vol%), zero-valent iron (1gL−1), vitamin B12 (0.025mgL−1), brij 30 (55μM), brij 35 (91μM), rhamnolipid (130mgL−1), or surfactin (43mgL−1) but was inhibited by the addition of acetate (30mM), lactate (20mM), or pyruvate (20mM). Sulfate-reducing bacteria, methanogen, and eubacteria are involved in the anaerobic degradation of TBBPA; sulfate-reducing bacteria is a major component of the sediment.