Bioremediation of Synthetic Wastewater with Contaminants of Emerging Concern by Nannochloropsis sp. and Lipid Production: A Circular Approach

Santos, Bruna; Araújo, Juliana; Carvalho, Beatriz; Cotrim, Carolina; Bernardino, Raul; Freitas, Filomena; Sobral, Abílio J. F. N.; Encarnação, Telma

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/13504

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Authors

Sobral, Abílio J. F. N.

Encarnação, Telma

Abstract(s)

Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) pose a potential risk to human and environmental health. Microalgae bioremediation is a promising approach for transforming or removing contaminants from the environment, while contributing to the circular economy. In this study, Nannochloropsis sp. was effectively used for the simultaneous removal of six CECs: paracetamol, ibuprofen, imidacloprid, methylparaben and bisphenol A at 10 µg mL−1 and triclosan at 0.5 µg mL−1 from synthetic wastewater, which were able to survive under such concentrations, higher than those commonly found in the environment (up to 2.82 µg mL−1 of methylparaben). High removal efficiencies were reached for methylparaben (100%) and bisphenol A (93 ± 2%), while for imidacloprid, paracetamol and ibuprofen, 30 ± 1%, 64 ± 2% and 49 ± 5% were removed, respectively. Subsequently, lipids were extracted, and the FAME profile was characterised using GS-MS. The main fatty acids identified after bioremediation were hexadecadienoic acid isomers (C16:2), palmitic acid (C16), linoleic acid (C18:2) and γ-linolenic acid (C18:3). The absence of oleic acid and stearic acid was noticed, suggesting an alteration in the lipidic profile due to contaminant exposure. By exploring the quantification of fatty acids in future work, potential applications for the extracted lipids can be explored, further demonstrating the feasibility of this circular process.

Keywords

Microalgae Nannochloropsis sp. Contaminants of emerging concern Endocrine disrupting chemicals Bioremediation Lipids Fatty acids

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/13504

Citation

Santos, B.; Araújo, J.; Carvalho, B.; Cotrim, C.; Bernardino, R.; Freitas, F.; Sobral, A.J.F.N.; Encarnação, T. Bioremediation of SyntheticWastewater with Contaminants of Emerging Concern by Nannochloropsis sp. and Lipid Production: A Circular Approach. Bioengineering 2025, 12, 246. https://doi.org/10.3390/ bioengineering12030246