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.