Toxicity and removal of pharmaceutical and personal care products: a laboratory scale study with tropical plants for treatment wetlands

Abstract

The aim of the research was to evaluate the response of three tropical species (Heliconia psittacorum, Ciperus haspan, Hedychium coronarium), respect their tolerance and removal capacity of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), namely acetylsalicylic acid, ibuprofen, methyl hydrojasmonate (cis – MDJM), galaxolide, tonalide, caffeine, naproxen, ketoprofen, and diclofenac. The study was undertaken in two stages (Stage I – Tolerance; Stage II – Removal) of 21 days each. In Stage I, it was found evidence that from 1,000 μg L−1 the plants show decaying responses, being C. haspan and H. psittacorum, the species with the best responses to tolerance and adaptation. The results of Stage II indicated that tonalide and ketoprofen compounds were 99% removed during the first 24 hours of exposure; acetylsalicylic acid, ibuprofen, galaxolide, and naproxen compounds were 80% eliminated, and caffeine and diclofenac products presented lower removal rates during same time. The study allowed the identification of two compound blocks, PPCPs that are sorbed by plants (acetylsalicylic acid, ibuprofen, MDJM, caffeine, galaxolide, and tonalide), and highly photodegradable compounds (ketoprofen, naproxen, and diclofenac). These findings open the possibility for further research about using plants adapted to tropical conditions, for PPCP removal from wastewaters in real scale nature-based systems such as treatment wetlands. HIGHLIGHTS The toxicity tolerance and removal of PPCPs were tested with 3 tropical plants typically used in treatment wetlands. Max. tolerance was determined between 100 and 1,000 μg L−1.; The highest PPCPs removal occurred during the first 24 hours of exposure.; The presence of macrophytes in assessed reactors favors the removal of PPCPs and has the potential for being implemented in real-scale wetland systems in tropical areas.;

Keywords

• emerging pollutants
• microcontaminants
• physiological responses
• plant species
• removal mechanisms
• tolerance