Removal of Ibuprofen and Paracetamol by Rhizobacteria from Roots of Scirpus grossus Exposed to a Synthetic Mix in Constructed Wetlands
Osama Abrahiem AL Falahi (University of Al Maarif)
Siti Rozaimah Sheikh Abdullah (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)
Hassimi Abu Hasan (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)
Ahmad Razi Othman (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)
Hind Mufeed Ewadh (University of Babylon)
Nur ‘Izzati Ismail (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)
Muhammad Fauzul Imron (National Research and Innovation Agency, TU Delft - Sanitary Engineering)
Setyo Budi Kurniawan (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, National Research and Innovation Agency)
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Abstract
The presence of ibuprofen (IBP) and paracetamol (PAR) contaminants in wastewater has become an emerging issue. Traditional wastewater treatment facilities have not been adequately upgraded to remove these micropollutants. This study focused on screening and identifying effective rhizobacteria capable of assisting plants in eliminating ibuprofen and paracetamol from wastewater using constructed wetlands. A total of 28 rhizobacteria were isolated from both the roots and the surrounding sand of Scirpus grossus after 30 days of pharmaceutical exposure. Among these, three isolates (Gram-negative Enterobacter aerogenes, Gram-positive Bacillus flexus, and Paenibacillus alvei) showed high tolerance to IBP and PAR with initial removal efficiencies > 75%. The addition of these three isolated rhizobacteria to a constructed wetland (planted with Scirpus grossus, 5-day HRT, 2 L/min aeration) assists the removal of IBP and PAR from wastewater. Bioaugmentation of rhizobacteria showed an increment of IBP removal (↑13%) from water (residual of 10 µg/L) and PAR (↑20%) from sand (residual 2.3 µg/L) as compared to the non-bioaugmented systems. The addition of rhizobacteria also showed the ability to significantly enhance the translocation of PAR into the shoot system of S. grossus, suggesting assisted phytoextraction mechanisms, while the removal of IBP in wetlands is suggested to occur via rhizodegradation. It is recommended that future research be conducted to elucidate the microbial degradation pathways and analyze the intermediate metabolites to accurately depict the pharmaceutical degradation mechanisms and evaluate their ecological risks.
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