Removal of enrofloxacin using Eichhornia crassipes in wetlands at microcosm scale

TEGLIA, CARLA M.; HADAD, HÉRNAN R.; UBERTI-MANASSERO, NORA; SIANO, ALVARO S.; REPETTI, MARÍA R.; GOICOECHEA, HÉCTOR C.; CULZONI, MARÍA J.; MAINE, MARÍA A.

Ghent University

Congreso; Conference Proceedings of 10th International Symposium on Wetland Pollutant Dynamics and Control, WETPOL.; 2023

The consumption of antibiotics worldwide entails the possibility of their occurrence in the environment. The use of nature-based solutions (NBS) is an innovative and environmentally friendly alternative. In this work, we assessed the efficiency of microcosm scale free-water surface wetlands (FWSWs) using Eichhornia crassipes in enrofloxacin (ENR) removal. The studied system(S) and controls (C) were: S1: water + ENR + sediment; S2: water + ENR + sediment + plants; S3: water + ENR + plants; C1: water + ENR; C2: water + sediment + plants; C3: water + plants. While it is known that antibiotics can be accumulated in the sediment, further studies should assess the bioaccumulation in the vegetation to understand the complete cycle of these contaminants in CWs. The behavior of enrofloxacin in the system, its accumulation and distribution in plant tissues, the detoxification mechanisms, and the possible effects on plant growth were also studied.Enrofloxacin was first taken up by E. crassipes in the first 100 h and then it was accumulated in thesediment. Removal rates higher than 94 % were obtained in systems with sediment and sediment + E. crassipes. Enrofloxacin was found in leaves, petiole, and root (8.8-23.6 μg, 11-78.3 μg and 10.2-70.7 μg, respectively). Enrofloxacin and degradation products were quantified in tissues and the presence of chlorosis in plants was observed on days 5 and 9. Finally, the degradation products of enrofloxacin were analyzed in the samples, and four possible metabolic pathways of enrofloxacin in E. crassipes were described.