Removal and risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in a decentralized greywater treatment system serving an Indian rural community

Abstract

A widespread occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) is reported in all the environmental matrices. Thus, the present study investigated the prevalence of these emerging contaminants in the wastewater from Vichoor village, Tamil Nadu, India. Among the 14 investigated PPCPs, caffeine (CAF), triclosan (TCS), bisphenol A (BPA), and diethyl phthalate (DEP) were the most frequently detected compounds in the concentration range of 5 ng/L to 250.14 µg/L. A seasonal variation (p < 0.05) in the concentration of selected PPCPs was observed, except for BPA, DEP, and carbamazepine (CBZ), due to the difference in the consumption pattern among the households of the community. The fate of selected pollutants was investigated in each component of vertical flow constructed wetland (VFCW). The overall removal efficiencies of COD, ammonia, phosphate, and pathogens were more than 93.34 ± 1.94%, 85.25 ± 1.51, 79.81 ± 1.15%, and 99.9 ± 0.81%, respectively. Also, VFCW exhibited substantial removal of the selected pollutants in the range of 81–97.7%. Microbial degradation (74.9–93.8%) followed by sorption over the substrate materials (0.54–12.56%) seem to be the predominant mechanism for the removal of target PPCPs. The environmental risk assessment witnessed that PPCPs concentration in the treated effluent contributed lower risk to human and aquatic organisms.