Optimizing Bioaugmentation for Pharmaceutical Stabilization of Sewage Sludge: A Study on Short-Term Composting Under Real Conditions Angeles-De Paz, Gabriela Cubero Cardoso, Juan Pozo Llorente, Clementina Calvo Sáinz, Concepción Aranda Ballesteros, Elisabet Robledo Mahón, Tatiana Composting Sewage sludge Pharmaceuticals Eco-efficiency Biodegradation This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and European Research Funds (FEDER) [grant numbers CTM2017-84332-R] and PID2021-123164OB-I00 MCIN/EI/10.13039/501100011033/ and by FEDER A way to make Europe. The Junta de Andalucía FEDER/Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades [B-RNM-204-UGR20]. Gabriela Angeles de Paz was funded by a CONAHCyT fellowship [grant number 772485]. Tatiana Robledo Mahón was funded by the María Zambrano Program (Next Generation Funds, UE). Juan Cubero Cardoso received funding from the JDC2022-050255-I grant, which is financed by MCIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the European Union’s “NextGenerationEU”/PRTR program. A significant concentration of pharmaceuticals has been detected within composted sewage sludge. Their uncomplete removal and lack of monitoring during composting neglects their potentially toxic effects when used as a soil organic amendment. Previously, we successfully implemented a bioaugmentation–composting system focused on toxicity and pharmaceuticals’ concentration reduction. This method, however, comprised a long inoculant-acclimatization period, making it an unprofitable technology. Hence, this work aimed to explore a shorter and yet effective composting process by simultaneously implementing the inoculation of a native microbial consortium and the fungus Penicillium oxalicum XD 3.1 in composting piles of sewage sludge and olive prunings. All the piles were subjected to frequent inoculation, windrow turning, and monitoring of the physicochemical and biological parameters. Additionally, both the bioaugmentation stability and pharmaceuticals degradation were evaluated through different analysis and removal rates calculations. One hundred days earlier than previous attempts, both bioaugmentation treatments achieved adequate composting conditions, maintained core native populations while improving the degrading microbial diversity, and achieved around 70–72% of pharmaceutical remotion. Nevertheless, only Penicillium inoculation produced favorable toxicity results ideal for organic amendments (acute microtoxicity and phytotoxicity). Thus, a shorter but equally stable and effective degrading bioaugmentation–composting with P. oxalicum was achieved here. 2025-02-26T11:53:29Z 2025-02-26T11:53:29Z 2025-01-16 journal article Angeles-De Paz, G.; Cubero-Cardoso, J.; Pozo, C.; Calvo, C.; Aranda, E.; Robledo-Mahón, T. Optimizing Bioaugmentation for Pharmaceutical Stabilization of Sewage Sludge: A Study on Short-Term Composting Under Real Conditions. J. Fungi 2025, 11, 67. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11010067 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/102734 10.3390/jof11010067 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Atribución 4.0 Internacional MDPI