Ecotoxicological Analysis of Bisphenol A for a Tropical Benthic Macroinvertebrate before and after Treatment with a Commercial and a Low-Cost Adsorbent
摘要
The difficulty of removing emerging contaminants, including BPA, from water supply and wastewater treatment plants represents a major obstacle to controlling these compounds in freshwater. This study evaluated and compared the toxicity of BPA in solution to the tropical organism Chironomus sancticaroli, before and after the adsorption process of the compound using commercial powdered activated carbon (PAC) and activated husks from the seed of the Moringa oleifera plant (C-MOH300), a natural waste product. Emergence rate, survival, sex ratio, and insect emergence time were evaluated in the BPA toxicity tests. The batch adsorption experiments were carried out using 35 mg L−1 and 400 mg L−1 of PAC and C-MOH300, respectively. The initial measured concentration of 3.86 mg L−1 of BPA was selected for the adsorption experiments because it negatively affected the emergence rate and survival of the insect larvae in long-term chronic toxicity tests. Both adsorbents were able to reduce the concentration of BPA in solution, with PAC being more efficient at removing the compound, providing a 40% reduction. After adsorption with both adsorbents, the solution did not cause chronic toxic effects for C. sancticaroli. M. oleifera seed husk was as effective as PAC in reducing the ecotoxicological effects of the emerging contaminant on the benthic organism. The data produced in this study contributes to the knowledge of alternative water treatment methods using natural waste.