Water pollution from emerging contaminants is increasingly in the spotlight, as awareness of the impacts on the aquatic environment has become clearer. Pharmaceuticals, personal care products, surfactants and pesticides have been shown to have endocrine-disrupting effects in marine organisms. Conventional wastewater treatment plants are currently incapable of totally removing these compounds or their bioactive metabolites, leaving behind around 60-90% of the initial concentration which is re-introduced to the water cycle. Pharmaceuticals have already been detected in soil and sediments, ground and surface water, and even tap water.<br/>Sporopollenin is the bio-polymer that makes up the outer shell (exine) of pollen grains or spores. It is extremely stable and often resistant to harsh environmental conditions since its role is to protect the genetic material that each grain/spore contains. Due to its physical and chemical stability the exact chemical structure of this naturally occurring polymer is not fully determined. Sporopollenin exine capsules (SpECs) may be extracted from pollen grains or spores resulting in empty capsules of a range of sizes depending on the plant. This robust highly monodispersed material presents high elasticity and permeability since its surface is penetrated by many narrow multi-directional channels that lead to the inner chamber, making it an ideal candidate for adsorption applications.<br/>We have investigated SpECs from <i>Lycopodium clavatum</i> as a sorbent material for the removal of pharmaceutical contaminants (triclosan, diclofenac, estradiol) and phosphate from water. A series of extraction protocols and surface modification procedures have been developed and optimised for the purposes of customising the material for each specific target pollutant. Our research offers a green approach to an environmental problem, using an efficient, cheap, abundant and naturally occurring material to help clean waterways.

Pollen solutions: Novel and green approach to water treatment

2019 Fall National Meeting

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