The widespread distribution of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the environment has led to increased research to evaluate the potential to use passive water treatment systems such as constructed wetlands and algal ponds to eliminate them from water. While concentration and load reductions of PPCPs have been reported in such systems, to date, the transfer and transformation mechanisms that govern PPCP fate remain unclear. In this research, we investigated the specific role of algae species <i>Scenedesmus obliquus</i> and <i>Chlorella vulgaris</i> in governing PPCP transfer and transformation mechanisms. Lab-scale algal bioreactors were created under various conditions of light, water matrix, and sterilization method to isolate and elucidate reaction mechanisms affecting carbamazepine, ibuprofen, gemfibrozil, and triclosan. Ibuprofen was primarily biotransformed, in particular when both algae and bacteria were present in the water. In all the reactors exposed to light, triclosan was rapidly phototransformed before biotransformation could start, even though triclosan sorption likely contributed to its initial concentration decrease. No evidence of carbamazepine and gemfibrozil transfer or transformation was observed under the experimental conditions tested. These results suggest that algae can facilitate PPCP transformation of some emerging contaminants in algae-based passive water treatment systems.

Transfer and transformation mechanisms of pharmaceutical and personal care products in algae-based passive water treatment

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.