Reduction of antibiotic resistance genes in municipal wastewater effluent by advanced oxidation processes

Abstract

This study investigated the reduction of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), intI1 and 16S rRNA genes, by advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), namely Fenton oxidation (Fe2+/H2O2) and UV/H2O2 process. The ARGs include sul1, tetX, and tetG from municipal wastewater effluent. The results indicated that the Fenton oxidation and UV/H2O2 process could reduce selected ARGs effectively. Oxidation by the Fenton process was slightly better than that of the UV/H2O2 method. Particularly, for the Fenton oxidation, under the optimal condition wherein Fe2+/H2O2 had a molar ratio of 0.1 and a H2O2 concentration of 0.01molL−1 with a pH of 3.0 and reaction time of 2h, 2.58–3.79 logs of target genes were removed. Under the initial effluent pH condition (pH=7.0), the removal was 2.26–3.35 logs. For the UV/H2O2 process, when the pH was 3.5 with a H2O2 concentration of 0.01molL−1 accompanied by 30min of UV irradiation, all ARGs could achieve a reduction of 2.8–3.5 logs, and 1.55–2.32 logs at a pH of 7.0. The Fenton oxidation and UV/H2O2 process followed the first-order reaction kinetic model. The removal of target genes was affected by many parameters, including initial Fe2+/H2O2 molar ratios, H2O2 concentration, solution pH, and reaction time. Among these factors, reagent concentrations and pH values are the most important factors during AOPs.