Use of constructed wetlands for pharmaceutical removal and assessment of potential for reuse.

• Grant number: 23/17843-2
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Sanitary Engineering - Water Resources
• Principal Investigator: Marta Siviero Guilherme Pires
• Grantee: Marta Siviero Guilherme Pires
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Tecnologia (FT). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Limeira , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Dagoberto Yukio Okada ; Elaine Cristina Catapani Poletti ; Jesús Muñoz-Rojas ; Roseli Frederigi Benassi

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals are a class of emerging compounds that have been detected in effluents, soils and surface waters, and which cause various environmental impacts. Conama 430/2011, which provides for the limits and standards for effluent discharge, does not establish criteria for this class of contaminants, which constitutes a serious environmental problem, mainly for the preservation of water resources. Therefore, it is necessary to look for ways to treat effluents that remove these compounds and allow their safe reuse. One way of treating effluents, which makes it possible to remove drugs, is constructed wetland (WC), a technology capable of removing compounds, with simple operation and maintenance. Therefore, this project aims to evaluate the removal of drugs from the anti-inflammatory and endocrine disrupting classes using WC. High-performance liquid chromatography analyzes will be carried out to detect the concentration of drugs in the effluent and in plant biomass, sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to evaluate groups of microorganisms involved in removing the compounds, as well as evaluating the toxicity of the treated effluent using phytoxicity and soil fauna organism E. crypticus, according to OECD 208 (2006) and ISO 11269-2 (2012), respectively. Compound removal efficiency calculations will be carried out with the different types of treatment, to study the removal support capacity, and statistical analyses, with a view to comparing the types of plants and hydraulic detention time used. (AU)