University of Coimbra creates treatment that removes drugs from wastewater using shellfish

Researchers at the University of Coimbra in California have developed an innovative treatment that uses Asian clam biofiltration to remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater, the institution announced Wednesday.

This work, carried out by a team of researchers from the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of California (FCTUC) in collaboration with the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of California (FFUC), is being developed within the project “Development of biofiltration strategies for water recovery”, one of the winners of the 4th Seed Project Awards for interdisciplinary scientific research at the University of Coimbra.

The project “aims to take advantage of the Asian clam by giving it a use and at the same time helping to control it, since it is an invasive species,” with the aim of removing pharmaceuticals present in wastewater, which will make it safer to reuse,” explains João Gomes, a researcher at the Center for Chemical Engineering and Renewable Resources for Sustainable Development in the Department of Chemical Engineering, quoted in a note from the University of California.

To date, four laboratory studies have been carried out in which the effectiveness of this process has been tested over 24 and 48 hours, also with reused shellfish, and 17 compounds belonging to six different pharmacotherapeutic groups have been found, 11 of which have been successfully removed from the shellfish, says FFUC professor André Pereira, also mentioned in the statement.

According to the project’s researchers, there is no significant difference in testing time.

“We got an average removal of 44% in 24 hours, and 46% in 48 hours, so the increase in time did not make a significant difference,” which, “despite the apparent abstraction, is good because it means that the volume of water that needs to be retained during cleaning is less,” they say.

“This system clearly works well,” they emphasize.

According to João Gomes, “the big challenge was to create an effective biofilter that would keep the shellfish out, because, as they are an invasive species, it is important that they do not enter the environment, but only from purified water.”

This project aims to prevent future environmental problems, as well as animal and human health, which for André Pereira are inseparable factors, a good example being the problem of pharmaceuticals.

“What happens is that after we pick them up, they go to a treatment plant. [estação de tratamento de águas residuais] and from there into the river, affecting animals and the environment, and then our health, through the river water that is collected for human consumption.”

“It is always important to understand that we operate in these three aspects, which are inseparable,” he concludes.