Trace residues of traditional pesticides and non-traditional man-made chemicals are routinely detected in aqueous ecosystems. Often, little is known about the ecotoxicity of these compounds so residues are referred to as contaminants of concern (CECs). In this study, two hydrophytes, <i>Canna Hybrida</i> L. ‘Yellow King Humbert’ (Common name: Canna) and <i>Acorus gramineus</i> Sol. ex Aiton (Common name: Sweetflag) were evaluated for their abilities to remove six CECs from contaminated water. The CECs included: acetaminophen (APAP), atrazine (ATZ), carbamazepine (CBZ), 17β-estradiol (E2), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and sulfamethoxazole (SMX). The phytoremediation experiments were conducted in mosocosms established using artificial floating treatment wetlands (FWTs) and lasted for 17 weeks. Each treatment, prepared in triplicate, was planted with different numbers of Canna or Sweetflag plant (i.e., 0, 10, 15, and 20). The six CECs and nutrients were added to each replicate containing 302 L of water, at environmentally relevant concentrations based on previous published studies. The extent of CEC removal from water was greater in treatments grown with the plants than in unplanted controls, and the difference in planting number slightly affected CEC removal. Aqueous residues of APAP and E2 were completely dissipated within 2 weeks in all treatments that included plants. At the end of the experiment (week 17), all residues of ATZ and SMX were removed in the Canna treatments, but not in the treatments with Sweetflag plants (75.8−87.6% and 96.3−97.1%, respectively). For CBZ, 79.5−82.6% of residues were removed in the Canna treatments and 69.4−82.3% was removed in the Sweetflag treatments. In contrast, PFOA residues were more persistent in water, with 9.0−15.0% being removed in the Sweetflag treatments and 58.4−62.3% removed in the Canna treatments. Overall, CEC dissipation was greatest in the Canna-containing treatments, suggesting that this species may be promising for FTW phytoremediation systems designed to remove CECs from contaminated surface water.

Comparative study on aqueous remediation of trace hazardous chemicals by two different hydrophytes planted in floating treatment wetlands: A mesocosm study

2019 Spring National Meeting

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