Bioaccumulation of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ionic liquid in a simple marine trophic chain

This study focused on the bioaccumulation intensities of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (bmimCl) by two invertebrates: Mytilus trossulus and Balanus improvisus and the green alga Chlorella vulgaris. The bioconcentration of bmimCl by two invertebrates was tested in the contaminated water, both with and without the presence of green algae previously exposed to the bmimCl. The experimentally obtained bioconcentration factors (BCFs) are quite low and do not exceed the value of 10. The presence of contaminated C. vulgaris in the water induces an increase in BCF of barnacles up to 80% in comparison to barnacles exposed only to contaminated water. Detoxication of M. trossulus may be more effective in the presence of higher IL concentrations. BCFs for hard tissues of the mussel indicates an exclusively physical sorption mechanism on the mineral surface.