Identification of organic contaminants in vinasse and in soil and groundwater from fertigated sugarcane crop areas using target and suspect screening strategies

Author(s)

da Silva, Josiel Jose ^[1] ; da Silva, Bianca Ferreira ^[1] ; Stradiotto, Nelson Ramos ^{[1, 2]} ; Petrovic, Mira ^{[3, 4]} ; Gros, Meritxell ^{[4, 5]} ; Gago-Ferrero, Pablo ^{[4, 5]}

Affiliation

^[1] Sao Paulo State Univ UNESP, Inst Chem, Araraquara, SP - Brazil

^[2] Sao Paulo State Univ Unesp, Bioenergy Res Inst IPBEN, Araraquara, SP - Brazil

^[3] Catalan Inst Res & Adv Studies ICREA, Barcelona - Spain

^[4] Catalan Inst Water Res ICRA, Emili Grahit 101, Girona 17003 - Spain

^[5] Univ Girona, Girona - Spain

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Science of The Total Environment; v. 761, MAR 20 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

This work evaluated for the first time the sustainability of vinasse reuse as a fertilizer in sugarcane crops by assessing the occurrence of organic contaminants and their potential for dissemination to soils and groundwater in fertigated areas. A comprehensive screening of organic contaminants was performed in vinasse, soil and groundwater using target analysis, to investigate the occurrence of multiple-class antibiotics, in combination with suspect screening using NORMAN Digital Sample Freezing Platform. Even though antibiotics are used in the ethanol production process and were expected to be ubiquitous contaminants, they were not detected in any of the samples. Nevertheless, the HRMS-based wide-scope suspect screening (including >7800 substances such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, preservatives and industrial chemicals) allowed the tentative identification of 56 compounds, mostly pesticides, food additives, industrial and naturally occurring substances. Results showed no overlap between the compounds detected in vinasse and environmental samples, suggesting that the pollutants found in soil and groundwater might come from alternative sources other than vinasse reuse. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/15739-5 - Vinasse as soil amendment: assessment of soil and groundwater contamination
• Grantee: Josiel José da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 16/06352-4 - Antibiotics in fuel ethanol production: analysis, dispersion in the environment and effects on vinasse biodigestion
• Grantee: Josiel José da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate