MYCOLab Ai Logo - gold and army green

Fluoxetine Removal from Aqueous Solutions Using a Lignocellulosic Substrate Colonized by the White-Rot Fungus Pleurotus ostreatus

Summary

This research explored an eco-friendly way to remove the antidepressant fluoxetine from water using spent mushroom growing material. The study found that waste material from oyster mushroom production could effectively remove this pharmaceutical from water through both biological and physical processes. This has important implications for everyday life: • Provides a sustainable way to treat wastewater containing pharmaceuticals using agricultural waste • Helps prevent pharmaceutical pollution from entering our water systems • Demonstrates how mushroom farming waste can be repurposed for environmental benefits • Could lead to more cost-effective water treatment methods • Shows promise for developing greener technologies for water purification

Background

Pharmaceuticals are widely consumed compounds that are constantly released into aquatic ecosystems through human activities, hospital discharges, pharmaceutical industry waste, and wastewater treatment plants that aren’t specifically designed for pharmaceutical removal. Even at extremely low concentrations, these compounds raise concerns due to their specific biological effects and potential adverse impacts on human health. Current advanced treatment methods like activated carbon adsorption and membrane filtration are expensive and energy-intensive, creating a need for more efficient, economic and sustainable treatment processes.

Objective

To assess the potential of a lignocellulosic substrate colonized by the white-rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus to remove fluoxetine from aqueous solutions and evaluate the laccase enzyme activity of the colonized mushroom substrate (CMS). The study aimed to understand the mechanisms involved in fluoxetine removal and test the system’s effectiveness in both batch and column configurations.

Results

The CMS achieved high fluoxetine removal efficiencies of 100% on day 1 and 84.6% after 15 days storage, with removal occurring within 10 minutes. Biosorption contributed 44.7% removal, while crude enzyme extracts alone achieved 19.6% removal. The column assay maintained 100% removal for 30 minutes before gradually declining to 70% efficiency after 8 hours of operation. The decrease in removal efficiency over storage time correlated with declining laccase enzyme activity from 73.0 to 19.2 U/L.

Conclusion

The colonized mushroom substrate demonstrated effective removal of fluoxetine through synergistic effects of laccase enzyme activity and biosorption. While enzyme activity decreased during storage, the system maintained good performance in continuous operation. The results suggest this approach could be a promising eco-friendly alternative for pharmaceutical removal in wastewater treatment, though further research is needed to evaluate technical, economic and environmental aspects before real-world application.
  • Published in:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,
  • Study Type:Laboratory Experimental Study,
  • Source: 10.3390/ijerph19052672
Scroll to Top