Triclosan removal in wetlands constructed with different aquatic plants

Triclosan (TCS) is widely used in consumer products as an antimicrobial agent. Constructed wetlands have the potential for TCS removal, but knowledge about the relative importance of sediment, plants, and microbes is limited. TCS removal performance was investigated in well-operated constructed wetlands planted with three different types of aquatic plants: emergent Cattail (C-T), submerged Hornwort (H-T), and floating Lemnaminor (L-T). Results showed that the TCS removal efficiencies from water were all greater than 97 %. Maximal TCS adsorption to sediment in the C-T wetland (13.8 ± 0.6 ng/g) was significantly lower than in the H-T wetland (21.0 ± 0.3 ng/g) or the L-T wetland (21.4 ± 0.6 ng/g). The maximal TCS concentrations in plants were 5.7 ± 0.2 and 7.2 ± 0.5 μg/g for H-T and L-T, respectively, and it was below the minimal detection limit (MDL) in C-T. Deep 16S rRNA gene sequencing results revealed that C-T wetland had the highest community richness and diversity. Some bacteria, like beta-Proteobacteria, gamma-Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were detected and might have significant correlations with TCS degradation. Overall, with regard to soils, plants, and microorganism, accumulation in sediment and plants in H-T and L-T was high, while in C-T biodegradation likely played an important role.