Occurrence of PPCPs in a Brazilian water reservoir and their removal efficiency by ecological filtration

Abstract

The presence of PPCPs (Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products) in water sources and drinking water has concerned researchers in recent times. This study was carried out to evaluate the occurrence of 6 PPCPs (namely paracetamol, diclofenac, naproxen, ibuprofen, benzophenone-3 and methylparaben) in the Lobo reservoir, their degradation products, and how efficienctly they were removed by 22 ecological filters, considering individual and mixtures of compounds. There were 3 spiking events of PPCPs (2 μg L-1) in the ecological filter influents conducted with a lag period of 15 days between spikes. Water sample were collected from the influent and effluent of the filters at 3, 6 and 24 hours after each spiking event. All target PPCPs were identified in the Lobo reservoir water in the range of µg L-1. The personal care products were detected with 100 % frequency in the samples, and in higher concentrations compared to the pharmaceuticals. Degradation products of diclofenac and benzophenone-3 were identified in the water samples. Results of this investigation show that an ecological filter was an effective process (70-99 %) to remove 2 μg L-1 of the selected PPCPs, and demonstrated that the filters were resilient to individual compounds and to their mixtures.

Pharmaceutical Pollution and Disposal of Expired, Unused, and Unwanted Medicines in the Brazilian Context

“…The presence of pharmaceuticals and hormones in untreated wastewater and their metabolites in treated and post-treat sewage effluents interfered with several biochemical parameters (e.g., oxidative damage and enzymatic activities) in the experimental freshwater tetra fish Astyanax bimaculatus [41]. Besides, various PPCPs in water reservoirs in Brazil were documented, despite a variable level of removal efficiency achieved through ecological filtration for a specific contaminant class [42]. These study examples give a glimpse into the emerging occurrence of pharmaceuticals in distinct localities and their latent presence in the environment to pose a risk to human health and wildlife.…”

The Occurrence and Risks of Selected Emerging Pollutants in Drinking Water Source Areas in Henan, China

“…Before intake by humans, a purification process is needed. Although evidence has shown that PPCPs could be partly removed during drinking water treatment [14,39], the risk of OPEs in purified water may be increased [40].…”

“…According to a previous report, over 50 antibiotics were found in the Danjiangkou Reservoir in China, with the highest concentration of 149 ng/L for sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in water, and 12.1 ng/g for oxytetracycline (OTC) in sediment, respectively [13]. Pompei et al noted that six target pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) could be identified in a Brazilian water reservoir in the range of μg/L, especially metyl 4-hydroxybenzoate (MEP) and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (BP3) were detected with a frequency of 100% [14]. The total concentration of OPEs were detected with a range of 166–1530 ng/L in water and 2.82–47.5 ng/g (dry weight) in sediment of Taihu Lake, China [15].…”

Distribution and Chemical Analysis of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in the Environmental Systems: A Review

“…PPCPs have been marked the most recurring identified organic contaminants in the aquatic surroundings. Notable concentrations have been discovered in environmental water at a range from ng/L to hundreds of µg/L [18,19,20,21,22,23,24] and ng/L in municipal wastewater [25] and yet it is unclear whether this is posing danger to humans and wildlife anthropologically [16]. Besides, there is no regulation in place for this class of organic contaminants at the moment [26].…”