EFFICIENCY OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT FROM CHLORAMPHENICOL USING Lemna minor

The article studies the effectiveness of wastewater treatment contaminated with chloramphenicol, a broad-spectrum antibiotic often found in the wastewater of pharmaceutical enterprises and healthcare facilities. The aim of the study was to determine the efficiency of chloramphenicol removal from model solutions using the biological agent Lemna minor depending on the initial concentration of the antibiotic and the treatment time. Model solutions with initial chloramphenicol concentrations of 2, 5, 10, and 20 mg/L were used. The treatment time ranged from 1 to 72 hours. Methods. The chloramphenicol content in the model solutions was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Results. Lemna minor effectively reduces the concentration of chloramphenicol, with a maximum reduction of 33.0% achieved at an initial concentration of 10 mg/L and 29.5% for 20 mg/L after 72 hours of treatment. The duckweed biomass was 0.04 g/mL. At 2 and 5 mg/L concentrations, the cleaning efficiency gradually increased for the first 24 hours, reaching a maximum of 23.2% and 26.8%, respectively, to 72 hours. This indicates that Lemna minor can effectively reduce antibiotic content in water but a long contact time is required to achieve maximum efficiency. In the control experiments where Lemna minor was not used, the chloramphenicol concentration remained unchanged over 72 hours, confirming the absence of natural decomposition or change in antibiotic content without a biological agent. Conclusions. The studies confirm the effectiveness of Lemna minor as a biological agent for reducing chloramphenicol concentrations in wastewater by up to 33%. The use of duckweed helps reduce the environmental impact of the antibiotic and contributes to lowering the risk of antibiotic resistance development.