Sugarcane vinasse provokes acute and chronic responses and bioaccumulation of metals in benthic macroinvertebrates

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 31; no. 3; pp. 4067 - 4079
• Main Authors: Fraga, Priscille Dreux, de Mello Gabriel, Gabriele Verônica, do Carmo, Janaina Braga, Espindola, Evaldo Luiz Gaeta, Pinto, Thandy Junio da Silva
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.01.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acute toxicity; Aquatic ecosystems; Aquatic environment; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bioaccumulation; Biofuels; Biological magnification; Cadmium; Chromium; Chronic exposure; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecological effects; Ecosystem; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental impact; Environmental Pollution; Ethanol; Food chains; Food contamination; Food webs; Freshwater ecosystems; Larvae; Low concentrations; Macroinvertebrates; Manganese; Metals; Metamorphosis; Population growth; Research Article; Saccharum - chemistry; Sublethal effects; Sugarcane; Terrestrial ecosystems; Toxicity testing; Vinasse; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Watercourses; Organic load; Reproduction; Stillage; Ethanol; Growth; industrial waste; Tropical species
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-31446-z

Brazil is a major producer of sugarcane bioethanol, which has raised concerns about its environmental impact. The industrial process for obtaining ethanol generates a by-product with a high pollution potential called vinasse. If vinasse reaches watercourses, it may affect the biological communities, such as the aquatic macroinvertebrates, which include species sensitive to environmental contamination. Thus, this study evaluated the ecotoxicological effects of sugarcane vinasse on tropical benthic macroinvertebrates ( Allonais inaequalis , Chironomus sancticaroli , Strandesia trispinosa , and Hyalella meinerti ). The study was divided into three phases. First, acute toxicity tests were carried out with the four species. The species A. inaequalis (average LC 50  = 0.460% confidence interval, CI 0.380–0.540%) was more sensitive to vinasse than C. sancticaroli (LC 50 0.721%, CI 0.565–0.878%), H. meinerti (EC 50 0.781%, CI 0.637–0.925%), and S. trispinosa (EC 50 1.283%, CI 1.045–1.522%). In the second phase, the consequences of chronic exposure to vinasse were assessed in the two more sensitive species. Impairments in reproduction and population growth rates for A. inaequalis and on the development, metamorphosis, and body growth of C. sancticaroli larvae occurred. Finally, the bioaccumulation of metals after chronic exposure was determined in the third phase. Vinasse provoked decreases in the body residue of the essential metals Zn and Mn and the accumulation of Cd, Pb, and Cr with the potential for biomagnification throughout the food webs. Low concentrations of vinasse (below 1%) provoked lethal and sublethal effects on benthic organisms, with several cascade effects on aquatic environments, given the ecological importance of this group in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems.