• Enhanced Bio-Electrodegradation of Acetylsalicylic Acid: Optimization, Pathway Elucidation, and Environmental Application

  • Harshavardhan Mohan, Pavithra Muthukumar Sathya, Min-Ju Kim, Bongkyu Kim*, and Byung-Taek Oh*

  • Division of Biotechnology, Advanced Institute of Environment and Bioscience, College of Environmental and Bioresource Sciences, Jeonbuk National University, Iksan, Jeonbuk State 54596, Republic of Korea

  • 아세틸살리실산의 향상된 생물전기분해: 최적화, 분해 경로 규명 및 환경적 적용

  • 하샤 발단모한ㆍ무투쿠마르 사티아 파비트라ㆍ김민주ㆍ 김봉규*ㆍ오병택*

  • 전북대학교 생명공학부

  • This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The widespread use and environmental persistence of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), a commonly consumed pharmaceutical, necessitate the development of efficient and sustainable removal strategies. This study investigates the degradation of ASA using a bio-electrochemical system (BES) employing Pseudomonas putida ASP-7, isolated from animal hospital waste. Comparative assessments revealed that bio-electrodegradation achieved significantly higher removal efficiency (98.7%) than biodegradation (59.54%) and electrodegradation (12.55%), with superior degradation kinetics and half-life. Optimization experiments identified ideal conditions at 20 mV applied potential, pH 6.5, and 26-30 °C using 100 mg/L ASA. Metabolic analysis showed ASA was initially hydrolyzed to salicylic acid and catechol, which further degraded into non-toxic end products. When applied to ASA-spiked river water, the system achieved 87.51% removal, demonstrating its practical potential for real-world pharmaceutical pollutant remediation.


Keywords: Acetylsalicylic acid, Bio-electrochemical system, Degradation, Metabolic pathway, Pseudomonas putida

This Article

  • 2025; 30(6): 109-117

    Published on Dec 31, 2025

  • 10.7857/JSGE.2025.30.6.109
  • Received on Nov 27, 2025
  • Revised on Dec 12, 2025
  • Accepted on Dec 23, 2025

Correspondence to

  • Bongkyu Kim, and Byung-Taek Oh

  • Division of Biotechnology, Advanced Institute of Environment and Bioscience, College of Environmental and Bioresource Sciences, Jeonbuk National University, Iksan, Jeonbuk State 54596, Republic of Korea

  • E-mail: bkim@jbnu.ac.kr, btoh@jbnu.ac.kr