**Evaluation of the Possibility of Using Hydroponic Cultivations for the Removal of Pharmaceuticals and Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in Municipal Sewage Treatment Plants**

#### **Daniel Wolecki, Magda Caban, Magdalena Pazda, Piotr Stepnowski and Jolanta Kumirska \***

Department of Environmental Analysis, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gda ´nsk, Poland; daniel.wolecki@phdstud.ug.edu.pl (D.W.); magda.caban@ug.edu.pl (M.C.); magdalena.pazda@phdstud.ug.edu.pl(M.P.);piotr.stepnowski@ug.edu.pl(P.S.)

**\*** Correspondence: jolanta.kumirska@ug.edu.pl; Tel.: +48-58-523-5212

Academic Editor: Teresa Rocha-Santos

Received: 13 November 2019; Accepted: 27 December 2019; Published: 31 December 2019

**Abstract:** The problem of the presence of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the environment is closely related to municipal wastewater and in consequence to municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs) because wastewater is the main way in which these compounds are transferred to the ecosystem. For this reason, the development of cheap, simple but very e ffective techniques for the removal of such residues from wastewater is very important. In this study, the analysis of the potential of using three new plants: *Cyperus papyrus* (Papyrus), *Lysimachia nemorum* (Yellow pimpernel), and *Euonymus europaeus* (European spindle) by hydroponic cultivation for the removal of 15 selected pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in an MWWTP is presented. In order to obtain the most reliable data, this study was performed using real WWTP conditions and with the determination of the selected analytes in untreated sewage, treated sewage, and in plant materials. For determining the target compounds in plant materials, an Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE)-Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE)-GC-MS(SIM) method was developed and validated. The obtained data proved that the elimination e fficiency of the investigated substances from wastewater was in the range of 35.8% for diflunisal to above 99.9% for paracetamol, terbutaline, and flurbiprofen. *Lysimachia nemorum* was the most e ffective for the uptake of target compounds among the tested plant species. Thus, the application of constructed wetlands for supporting conventional MWWTPs allowed a significant increase in their removal from the wastewater stream.

**Keywords:** pharmaceuticals; endocrine disrupting compounds; hydroponic cultivation; determining target pollutants in plant materials; municipal wastewater treatment plants
