Exploring the influence of sulfadiazine-induced stress on antibiotic removal and transformation pathway using microalgae Chlorella sp.

Sulfadiazine (SDZ) is a kind of anti-degradable antibiotics that is commonly found in wastewater, but its removal mechanism and transformation pathway remain unclear in microalgal systems. This study investigated the effects of initial algae concentration and SDZ-induced stress on microalgal growth metabolism, SDZ removal efficiency, and transformation pathways during Chlorella sp. cultivation. Results showed that SDZ had an inhibitory effect on the growth of microalgae, and increasing the initial algal biomass could alleviate the inhibitory effect of SDZ. When the initial algal biomass of Chlorella sp. was increased to 0.25 g·L−1, the SDZ removal rate could reach 53.27%-89.07%. The higher the initial algal biomass, the higher the SOD activity of microalgae, and the better the protective effect on microalgae, which was one of the reasons for the increase in SDZ removal efficiency. Meanwhile, SDZ stress causes changes in photosynthetic pigments, lipids, total sugars and protein content of Chlorella sp. in response to environmental changes. The main degradation mechanisms of SDZ by Chlorella sp. were biodegradation (37.82%) and photodegradation (23%). Most of the degradation products of SDZ were less toxic than the parent compound, and the green algae were highly susceptible to SDZ and its degradation products. The findings from this study offered valuable insights into the tradeoffs between accumulating microalgal biomass and antibiotic toxic risks during wastewater treatment, providing essential direction for the advancement in future research and full-scale application.