Removal of selected pharmaceuticals from wastewater using spawn-based pellets of Pleurotus ostreatus: efficiency and environmental implications

Abstract Background Pharmaceutical residues are increasingly detected in aquatic environments, and conventional wastewater treatment plants often provide insufficient removal. In this study, we evaluated the capacity of spawn-based pellets of the white-rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus to remove 11 pharmaceuticals from synthetic wastewater and the secondary effluent from a municipal wastewater treatment plant and conducted a preliminary life cycle assessment (LCA) of the treatment process. Result In synthetic wastewater, living fungal pellets reduced the pharmaceutical concentration by > 30% within 10 min compared to the control. Significant removal of nine compounds, particularly macrolide and sulfonamide antibiotics, was observed. Biosorption contributed to removal but accounted for only a minor fraction. In the secondary effluent, total pharmaceutical concentrations decreased by 51–66% after 2–24 h, with time-dependent removal observed for several compounds. LCA results indicated that fungal treatment combined with incineration of spent biomass had lower environmental impacts than landfilling, largely due to energy recovery. The major contributors to environmental burden were energy demands, particularly due to sterilisation during grain spawn preparation and aeration. Conclusion Use of spawn-based pellets of P. ostreatus is a biologically based treatment technology for pharmaceutical removal. Future work should address transformation products, toxicity, and process optimization to improve sustainability at scale.