Removal Efficiency Of Antibiotics Research Articles

Mechanism insights into hydrothermal-activated tannic acid (TA) for simultaneously sewage sludge deep dewatering and antibiotics removal

Tannic acid (TA) aided hydrothermal treatment (HT) can decrease effective HT temperatures for sludge deep dewatering by chelator protein, but faces notable and economic challenges including the failure to remove antibiotics and the limited protein binding capacity. Herein, hydrothermally activated TA (in situ TA + HT) was conducted to simultaneously improve sludge dewaterability and antibiotic (tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC), norfloxacin (NOR), ofloxacin (OFL)) removal. Compared to traditional HT and HT + TA treatment, the in-situ TA + HT process could further strengthen the TA-aided HT efficacy in enhancing sludge and reducing the protein content in the filtrate simultaneously; in which the optimal HT temperature for the dewatering of the sludge was reduced from 180 °C to 140 °C. Furthermore, the total removal efficiency of target antibiotics was achieved at more than 71.0–94.7% for TC and OTC, and 72.0–84.8% for NOR and OFL. The highly reactive species (·OH) generation and the electron transfer efficiency from the hydrothermal-activated TA process were responsible for the elimination of antibiotics and promoted the hydrolyzation and mineralization of HMW protein in sludge during the HT process. Meanwhile, the degradation of HMW proteins and the destruction of the secondary structure of these proteins resulted in improved hydrophobicity and dewaterability of sludge. Hydrothermally activated TA induces covalent binding with the protein. As a result, hydrothermal-activated TA could promote the removal of antibiotics and proteinaceous compounds from the sludge samples, improving the hydrophobicity of sludge and releasing bound water from the sludge flocs during HT. Finally, the cost of hydrothermal-activated TA was 66.51% lower than that of thermal drying treatment. This study not only proposed an effective method to improve traditional HT for sludge thermal dry-free treatment, but also provided new information on the catalysis roles of polyphenols in the hydrothermal conversion of sludge.

Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)/BN nanohybride: Enhanced adsorption of antibiotic pollutant removal from wastewater

Increasing wastewater pollution by pharmaceutical waste poses a serious threat to environmental safety and public health, so sorbents with high adsorption capacity and removal efficiency are in high demand. To address this important problem, a novel pellet sorbent containing (2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate)-modified BN nanoparticles (pHEMA/BN) was produced by a combination of CVD synthesis (BN), solution method (pHEMA/BN nanoparticles) and uniaxial pressing (pHEMA/BN pellets) and studied for the adsorption of tetracycline (TC) and linezolid (LNZ) from aqueous solutions. Characterization techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, have provided insight into adsorbent microstructure and specific surface area. At an initial antibiotic concentration of 100 mg/L, pHEMA/BN adsorbent demonstrated an 84–88 % increase in equilibrium adsorption capacity after 24 h and an 86–89 % increase in antibiotic removal efficiency compared to unmodified BN. Molecular dynamics calculations revealed robust interactions between the polymer and BN, accompanied by an electron density redistribution. And density functional theory calculations showed the formation of multiple hydrogen bonds between the polymer hydroxyl groups and the antibiotic functional groups. Adsorption kinetics analysis suggested that pHEMA/BN adsorption involves both physical interaction and chemisorption. The pHEMA/BN material demonstrates good reusability with an adsorption efficiency >90 % after three sorption cycles with sorbent regeneration between cycles. These results highlight the high potential of pHEMA/BN adsorbents for practical applications in drinking water and wastewater treatment, offering versatility and efficiency in the pharmaceutical contaminant adsorption, thereby facilitating the development of more cost-effective and sustainable wastewater treatment methods compared to conventional adsorbents.

Disclosing the intrinsic nature of efficient removal of antibiotics in N/S dual-doped porous carbon-based materials: The manipulation of internal electric field

N/S co-doping has emerged as a prevailing strategy for carbon-based adsorbents to facilitate the antibiotic removal efficiency. Nevertheless, the underlying interplay among N, S, and their adjacent vacancy defects remains overlooked. Herein, we present a novel in situ strategy for fabricating pyridinic-N dominated and S dual-doped porous carbon adsorbent with rich vacancy defects (VNSC). The experimental results revealed that N (acting as the electron donor) and S (acting as the electron acceptor) form an internal electric field (IEF), with a stronger IEF generated between pyridinic-N and S, while their adjacent vacancy defects activate carbon π electrons, thus enhancing the charge transfer of the IEF. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further demonstrated that the rich charge transfer in the IEF facilitated the π-π electron donor-acceptor (EDA) interaction between VNSC and tetracycline (TC) as well as norfloxacin (NOR), and thus is the key to adsorption performance of VNSC. Consequently, VNSC exhibited high adsorption capacities toward TC (573.1 mg g−1) and NOR (517.0 mg g−1), and its potential for environmental applications was demonstrated by interference, environmentally relevant concentrations, fixed-bed column, and regeneration tests. This work discloses the natures of adsorption capacity for N/S dual-doped carbon-based materials for antibiotics.

Prevalence of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and their associations in municipal wastewater treatment plants along the Yangtze River basin, China

The overuse and misuse of antibiotics have resulted in the pollution of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), posing threats to ecological security and human health. Thus, a comprehensive investigation was conducted to assess the occurrence, removal efficiency, and ecological risk of antibiotics, along with the diversity, abundance, and co-occurrence of ARGs, and their correlations in 13 WWTPs along the Yangtze River Basin. Among 35 target antibiotics, 23 antibiotics within 6 categories were detected in all the samples. Amoxicillin (AMO), ofloxacin (OFL), and pefloxacin (PEF) were predominant in influents, while AMO exhibited dominance with the highest concentration of 1409 ng/L in effluents. Although antibiotic removal performance varied among different WWTPs, a significant decrease in each antibiotic category and overall antibiotics was observed in effluents compared with that in influents (p < 0.05). Remarkably, ecological risk assessment revealed high risks associated with AMO and ciprofloxacin (CIP) and medium risks linked to several antibiotics, notably including OFL, roxithromycin (ROX), clarithromycin (CLA), and tetracycline (TC). Furthermore, 96 ARG subtypes within 12 resistance types were detected in this study, and the total absolute abundance and diversity of ARGs were significantly decreased from influents to effluents (p < 0.05). Enrichment of 38 ARGs (e.g., blaNDM, ermA, vatA, mexA, and dfrA25) in effluents indicated potential health risks. Various mobile genetic elements (MGEs), exhibited significant correlations with a majority of ARGs in both influents and effluents, such as intⅠ1, tnpA1, tnpA5, and tp614, underscoring the important role of MGEs in contributing to the ARG dissemination. Many antibiotics displayed lower correlations with corresponding ARGs, but exhibited higher correlations with other ARGs, suggesting complex selective pressures influencing ARG propagation. Overall, the incomplete elimination of antibiotics and ARGs in WWTPs is likely to pose adverse impacts on aquatic ecosystems in the Yangtze River Basin.

Investigating the Efficiency of Photo-Fenton (UV/H2O2/Fe2+) in Removing the Indomethacin Antibiotic From Aqueous Solutions

Water pollution caused by antibiotics is one of the major challenges in the world today. The current research aims to investigate the effect of the Photo-Fenton process in removing indomethacin antibiotics from aqueous solutions. This experiment-based study was conducted on a laboratory scale and discontinuous manner. The influential variables affecting the removal efficiency of indomethacin include initial antibiotic concentration, pH, time, hydrogen peroxide concentration, and iron ion. The study was conducted base on standard methods (APHA, AWWA, CFWP, 2005). The Design Expert software was used to analyze the effect of independent variables on the removal efficiency of indomethacin antibiotics in the Photo-Fenton process (UV/H2O2/Fe2+) using response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD). To ensure the repeatability of the results, each experiment was repeated three times and the reported the average. The results showed that the optimal removal conditions for indomethacin antibiotics were pH = 4, H2O2 oxidant concentration = 50 ppm, Fe2+catalyst concentration = 50 ppm, time = 75 minutes, and initial antibiotic concentration = 20 ppm, with a removal efficiency of 91.03% . The variables of initial antibiotic concentration, H2O2 concentration, and pH had the greatest impact on the removal efficiency of indomethacin. The results of this study indicate that under optimal conditions, more than 90% of indomethacin antibiotics can be removed from aqueous solutions using the Photo-Fenton process, which is a significant result for removing this pharmaceutical pollutant from aquatic environments.

Methionine-stevensite derived bionanocomposite: A green and efficient adsorbent for the removal of antibiotics

The persistent appearance of antibiotic residues in the aquatic ecosystem is considered an issue of great concern. This study examined the adsorptive efficiency of a novel bionanocomposite (L-methionine/stevensite, MET/ST) for promising decontamination of nine antibiotics. Results revealed that MET/ST allows an excellent antibiotic removal efficiency, from 87% for trimethoprim (TMP) to almost 100% for the eight remaining antibiotics, at neutral pH, an adsorbent dose of 2 g/L, and 1.5 mg/L of the antibiotics mixture. Equilibrium was achieved in less than 1 min, except for TMP (30 min), and the kinetics was consistent with the pseudo-second order model (R2 > 0.927). The isotherm data were fitted with the Langmuir and Freundlich models (R2 > 0.960) (qmax from 21.48 to 28168 mg/g for TMP and chlortetracycline, respectively). The high surface area (170.49 m2/g) and pore volume (0.16 cm3/g) of MET/ST, together with electrostatic and hydrogen bonding interactions, played a dominant role in antibiotic adsorption. TMP was the only antibiotic affected by temperature (from 61% to 85% at 5 and 45ºC) and salinity (from 87% to 37% at 0 and 4% w/v of NaCl). The MET/ST was used consecutively for at least four adsorption–desorption cycles after being regenerated with a capacity > 97% in the last cycle for 7 out of 9 antibiotics. In addition to its adsorption capacity, reusability and low-cost features, the material demonstrated an excellent efficiency (up to 69% for TMP and 100% for other antibiotics) in wastewater and surface water samples denoting a great application for water purification.

Synthesis and characterization of nanocomposite based polymeric membrane (PES/PVP/GO-TiO2) and performance evaluation for the removal of various antibiotics (amoxicillin, azithromycin & ciprofloxacin) from aqueous solution

The escalating global concern regarding antibiotic pollution necessitates the development of advanced water treatment strategies. This study presents an innovative approach through the fabrication and evaluation of a Polyethersulfone (PES) membrane adorned with GO-TiO2 nanocomposites. The objective is to enhance the removal efficiency of various antibiotics, addressing the challenge of emerging organic compounds (EOCs) in water systems. The nanocomposite membranes, synthesized via the phase inversion method, incorporate hydrophilic agents, specifically GO-TiO2 nanocomposites and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The resultant membranes underwent comprehensive characterization employing AFM, EDS, tensile strength testing, water contact angle measurements, and FESEM to elucidate their properties. Analysis revealed a substantial improvement in the hydrophilicity of the modified membranes attributed to the presence of hydroxyl groups within the GO-TiO2 structure. AFM images demonstrated an augmentation in surface roughness with increasing nanocomposite content. FESEM images unveiled structural modifications, leading to enhanced porosity and augmented water flux. The pure water flux elevated from 0.980 L/m2.h−1 for unmodified membranes to approximately 6.85 L/m2.h−1 for membranes modified with 2 wt% nanocomposites. Membrane performance analysis indicated a direct correlation between nanocomposite content and antibiotic removal efficiency, ranging from 66.52% to 89.81% with 4 wt% nanocomposite content. Furthermore, the nanocomposite-modified membrane exhibited heightened resistance to fouling. The efficacy of the membrane extended to displaying potent antibacterial properties against microbial strains, including S. aureus, E. coli, and Candida. This study underscores the immense potential of GO-TiO2 decorated PES membranes as a sustainable and efficient solution for mitigating antibiotic contamination in water systems. The utilization of nanocomposite membranes emerges as a promising technique to combat the presence of EOC pollutants, particularly antibiotics, in water bodies, thus addressing a critical environmental concern.

Occurrence, removal efficiency, and emission of antibiotics in the sewage treatment plants of a low-urbanized basin in China and their impact on the receiving water

Sewage treatment plants (STPs) are primary sources of antibiotics in aquatic environments. However, limited research has been conducted on antibiotic attenuation in STPs and their downstream waters in low-urbanized areas. This study analyzed 15 antibiotics in the STP sewage and river water in the Zijiang River basin to quantify antibiotic transport and attenuation in the STPs and downstream. The results showed that 14 target antibiotics, except leucomycin, were detected in the STP sewage, dominated by amoxicillin (AMOX), ofloxacin, and roxithromycin. The total antibiotic concentration in the influent and effluent ranged from 158 to 1025 ng/L and 99.9 to 411 ng/L, respectively. The removal efficiency of total antibiotics ranged from 54.7 % to 75.7 % and was significantly correlated with total antibiotic concentration in the influent. The antibiotic emission from STPs into rivers was 78 kg/yr and 4.6 g/km2yr in the Zijiang River basin. The total antibiotic concentration downstream of the STP downstream was 23.6 to 213 ng/L and was significantly negatively correlated with the transport distance away from the STP outlets. Antibiotics may pose a high ecological risk to algae and low ecological risk to fish in the basin. The risk of AMOX and ciprofloxacin resistance for organisms in the basin was estimated to be moderate. This study established antibiotic removal and attenuation models in STPs and their downstream regions in a low-urbanized basin, which is important for simulating antibiotic transport in STPs and rivers worldwide.

Performance of public drinking water purifiers in control of trihalomethanes, antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes

Point-of-use water purifiers are widely applied as a terminal treatment device to produce drinking water with high quality. However, concerns are raised regarding low efficiency in eliminating emerging organic pollutants. To enhance our understanding of the reliability and potential risks of water purifiers, the removal of trihalomethanes, antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in four public water purifiers was investigated. In the four public water purifiers in October and November, the removal efficiencies of trichloromethane (TCM) and bromodichloromethane (BDCM) were 15%–69% (averagely 37%) and 6%–44% (averagely 23%). The levels of TCM and BDCM were lowered by all water purifiers in October and November, but accelerated in effluent compared to the influent in one public water purifier in December. The removal efficiencies of twelve antibiotics greatly varied with species and time. Out of twelve sampling cases, the removal efficiencies of total antibiotics were 25%–75% in ten cases. In the other two cases, very low removal efficiency (6%) or higher levels of antibiotics present in effluent compared to the influent were observed. Two public water purifiers effectively remove ARGs from water, with log removal rates of 0.45 log–3.89 log. However, in the other two public water purifiers, the ARG abundance accidently increased in the effluents. Overall, public water purifiers were more effective in removing antibiotics and ARGs compared to household water purifiers, but less or equally effective in removing trihalomethanes. Both public and household water purifiers could be contaminated and release the accumulated micro-pollutants or biofilm-related pollutants into effluent. The production frequency and standing time of water within water purifiers can impact the internal contamination and purification efficacy.

Lamellar WO3/AgI S-scheme heterojunction for superior visible light driven photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin

A unique lamellar WO3/AgI S-scheme heterojunction is constructed via integrated hydrothermal and coprecipitation methods. Optimized WO3/AgI composite shows significantly enhanced photocatalytic ciprofloxacin (CIP) degradation under visible light irradiation, achieving a removal rate of 53.4 % within 3 h, which is about 7.63 and 1.56 times superior than those of pristine WO3 and AgI, respectively. The characterizations, experiment results and Density Functional Theoretical (DFT) calculation results confirm the enhanced light absorption, well-aligned straddling band structures and reasonable formation of S-scheme heterojunction with efficient photogenerated carriers transfer between WO3 and AgI. Moreover, O2− and h+ are identified as the main active species, with O2− plays a dominant role in WO3/AgI during the photocatalytic degradation of CIP. This work elucidates a possible approach to develop photocatalysts with a high antibiotic removal efficiency through a higher reducing ability and stronger oxidizing ability of S-scheme heterojunction by reasonable structure configuration.

Study on the removal efficiency of antibiotics in coastal wetlands by Suaeda and Nelumbo nucifera

Study on the removal efficiency of antibiotics in coastal wetlands by Suaeda and Nelumbo nucifera

Occurrence and fate of antibiotics and ARGs in a wastewater treatment plant with JHB process in Guangzhou, South China: Removal performance, interaction and host analysis

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are recognized as sinks for antibiotics and sources of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Thus, it is crucial to understand the occurrence and fate of antibiotics and ARGs in each treatment unit to propose an optimal regulation strategy for pollution control. In this study, the occurrence and fate of antibiotics and ARGs in a WWTP from Guangzhou, southern China with Johannesburg (JHB) process, a common WWTP treatment technique in China, were investigated. Occurrence and fate of a total of 17 common antibiotics and 14 ARGs types were determined in each treatment unit in the WWTP. The contribution of each treatment unit to the total removal efficiency of antibiotics and ARGs in the WWTP were investigated. Although a high removal rate (95.32 %) was observed for total antibiotics, risk quotient (RQ) analysis showed that chloramphenicol in effluent still presented notable ecological risk. We further found that disinfection dramatically increased ARGs abundance and risk of horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Contribution of various environmental factors to microbial community structure and ARGs variation were also quantified with variation partitioning analysis (VPA). Co-occurrence network analysis further revealed the potential hosts of ARGs. This study contributed to a specific understanding of the fate of antibiotics and ARGs within the WWTP with JHB process and provided insight into the removal of antibiotics and ARGs in the wastewater.

Interfacial modulation of α-Ag1.82Cu0.09WO4 with high active BiOClxI1−x for boosting photocatalytic activity and degradation of emerging contaminants under direct sunlight

Removal of organic contaminants in wastewater using sunlight-driven photocatalysts has received significant attention in recent years. However, the rational design of photocatalysts to attain high light absorption, lower charge carrier recombination with efficient photocatalytic activity and good recycling capability is crucial for the practical photocatalysis process. Herein, solid-state Z-scheme BiOCl0.6I0.4/α-Ag1.82Cu0.09WO4 heterojunction is synthesized by assembling hierarchical 3D-BiOCl0.6I0.4 nanoflowers on cube-like 3D-α-Ag1.82Cu0.09WO4 surface through a hydrothermal method. A wide range of characterization techniques confirms the successful synthesis of BiOClxI1−x (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0), α-Ag1.82Cu0.09WO4 and BiOCl0.6I0.4/α-Ag1.82Cu0.09WO4 binary composites. The TC antibiotic removal efficiency of 30 wt% BiOCl0.6I0.4/α-Ag1.82Cu0.09WO4 binary composite reaches 95.91% within 120 min under natural sunlight irradiation and the rate constant is 1.81 and 3.33 times higher than the pristine BiOCl0.6I0.4 and α-Ag1.82Cu0.09WO4, respectively. The optimized binary heterojunction exhibits excellent photocatalytic performance for toxic pollutants like MB (η = 97.27%) and RhB (η = 95.75%) under direct sunlight irradiation. The favorable photocatalytic activity of binary heterojunction is ascribed to enhancing the sunlight absorption range, the tight contact interface and the effective separation of electron/hole pairs. Notably, 30 wt% BiOCl0.6I0.4/α-Ag1.82Cu0.09WO4 binary composite exhibits attractive recycling ability and good photostability for prolonged sunlight irradiation. Furthermore, the total organic carbon results also confirm that the 30 wt% BiOCl0.6I0.4/α-Ag1.82Cu0.09WO4 efficiently mineralized the model pollutants (TC antibiotic, MB and RhB) into other unharmful compounds under sunlight irradiation. In summary, this work offers an effective strategy to prepare solid-state Z-scheme heterojunction with favorable photocatalytic activity, which can increase wastewater purification efficiency.

Simulated-sunlight enhances membrane aerated biofilm reactor performance in sulfamethoxazole removal and antibiotic resistance genes reduction

Membrane aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs) can be used to treat domestic wastewater containing sulfamethoxazole (SMX) because of their favorable performance in the treatment of refractory pollutants. However, biologics are generally subjected to antibiotics stress, which induces the production of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this study, a simulated-sunlight assisted MABR (L-MABR) was used to promote SMX removal and reduce ARGs production. The SMX removal efficiency of the l-MABR system was 9.62 % superior to that of the MABR system (83.13 %). In contrast from MABR, in the l-MABR, only 28.75 % of SMX was removed through microbial activity because functional bacteria were inactivated through radiation by simulated sunlight. In addition, photolysis (64.61 %) dominated SMX removal, and the best performing indirect photolysis process was the excited state of effluent organic matters (3EfOMs*). Through photolysis, ultraviolet (UV) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) enriched the SMX removal route, resulting in the SMX removal pathway in the l-MABR no longer being limited by enzyme catalysis. More importantly, because of the inactivation of functional bacteria, whether in the effluent or biofilm, the copy number of ARGs in the l-MABR was 1–3 orders of magnitude lower than that in the MABR. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing simulated-sunlight to enhance the antibiotic removal efficiency while reducing ARG production, thus providing a novel idea for the removal of antibiotics from wastewater.

Sand Modified with Nanoparticles of Calcium, Aluminum, and CTAB in the Form of Layered Double Hydroxide for Removing of Amoxicillin from Groundwater

The addition of new reactive sites on the surface area of the inert sand, which are represented by layered double hydroxide nanoparticles, is the primary goal of this work, which aims to transform the sand into a reactive material. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant is used in the reaction of calcium extracted from solid waste-chicken eggshells with aluminum prepared from the cheapest coagulant-alum. By separating amoxicillin from wastewater, the performance of coated sand named as "sand coated with (Ca/Al-CTAB)-LDH" was evaluated. Measurements demonstrated that pH of 12 from 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, CTAB dosage of 0.05 g from 0, 0.03, 0.05, and 0.1 g, ratio of Ca/Al of 2 from 1, 2, 3, and 4, and mass of sand of 1 g/50 mL from 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 g/50 mL are the optimal manufacturing conditions for coated sand to guarantee an antibiotic removal efficiency greater than 80. After planting the LDH nanoparticles, characterization analyses revealed that the generation of a plate-like layer composed of loosely aggregated micrometric plates had significantly altered the structure of sand. Finally, as the sorbent mass increased as well as the flow rate and inlet contaminant concentration (Co) decreased, the longevity of coated sand in the packed column significantly increased. In comparison to the Belter-Cussler-Hu and Yan models, the Thomas-BDST model provides a more accurate simulation of measured breakthrough curves.

Attenuation of antibiotics from simulated swine wastewater using different microalgae-based systems

Antibiotic misuse are potentially harmful to the environment and human health. Four algal symbionts were constructed using Chlorella vulgaris, endophytic bacterium and Clonostachys rosea (C. rosea) as the biomaterials. The growth, photosynthetic activity, and antibiotic removal efficiency of symbiont under different initial antibiotic concentrations was analyzed. The results showed that the microalgae-bacteria-fungi symbiont had a maximum growth rate of 0.307 ± 0.030 d−1 and achieved 99.35 ± 0.47%, 81.06 ± 7.83%, and 79.15 ± 7.26% removal of oxytetracycline (OTC), sulfadimethazine (SM2), and ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CPFX), respectively, at an initial antibiotic concentration of 0.25 mg/L. C. rosea has always existed as a biocontrol fungus. In this study, it was innovatively used to construct algal symbionts and used for antibiotic wastewater treatment with a high efficiency. The results contribute to the development of appropriate bioaugmentation strategies and the design of an algal symbiont process for the treatment of antibiotic-containing wastewater.

Elucidating the relation between residual oxidants formation behavior and quinolone antibiotic removal efficiency on catalytic ozonation in seawater-based aquaculture wastewater

Owing to the recent developments in aquaculture, the discharge of antibiotic-laden wastewater has become a growing concern. Quinolone antibiotics, which cause central nervous system and cardiac conduction disorders, are commonly detected in aquaculture wastewater. To remove antibiotics in wastewater, the ozone process is a commonly utilized method. In the process of seawater ozone treatment, bromide ions (Br−) produce total residual oxidant, such as hypobromous acid (HOBr). However, the oxidation potential of the total residual oxidant (TRO) is lower than that of ozone, and the presence of inhibitors, such as ammonium, and dimethyl sulfide can reduce the residual oxidant concentration. Therefore, the seawater ozone process requires a higher ozone injection than freshwater. In this study, various factors affecting TRO production were evaluated to determine the optimal ozone-catalytic process using gamma-alumina and elucidate the relationship between TRO production and antibiotic removal efficiency for efficient seawater-based wastewater treatment. The removal rates of representative quinolone antibiotics, such as enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and oxolinic acid, were evaluated using liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection. The addition of a catalyst enabled the reaction to maintain a higher TRO concentration and improves antibiotic removal efficiency, even in the presence of ammonium in the aquaculture wastewater with the same ozone dosage applied. The results reveal that the ozone-catalyst process contributes to increased TRO production to suppress bacterial growth and effectively remove non-degradable organic matter, such as antibiotics, in seawater-based wastewater treatment.

Study on highly efficient p-n heterojunction Bi2MoO6/Cu2O: Synthesis, characterization and visible-light photocatalytic activity toward antibiotics degradation

Water pollution has reached alarming levels due to the overuse of antibiotics, and photocatalysis is considered to be a green and efficient degradation technology for the treatment of water pollution caused by antibiotics. In this paper, a series of p-n heterojunction Bi2MoO6/Cu2O composite photocatalysts were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS, UV–Vis-DRS, PL, and EIS. The photocatalytic activities of the photocatalysts were analyzed based on the degradation of two antibiotics under visible light illumination. Results showed a removal rate of 88% and 94% for chlortetracycline (CTC) and tetracycline (TC), respectively. The corresponding first-order kinetic curves indicated that the reaction rates were 4.2 and 7.9 times higher than those of the Bi2MoO6 and Cu2O monomers. The enhanced removal efficiency of antibiotics is ascribed to the improved light absorption and electron-hole pair transport channels, facilitated by the formation of p-n heterojunction within the catalyst. Further, a possible degradation mechanism was proposed. Finally, the intermediate products were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and a possible photocatalytic degradation pathway of CTC was proposed. Based on the present study and experimental observations, Bi2MoO6/Cu2O as a visible-light-driven photocatalyst is suggested to be a promising candidate for the removal of antibiotics.

Assessing the efficiency of ozone-based advanced drinking water treatment processes in removing antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant genes: Pilot-scale research

With the widespread use of antibiotics, the emergence of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) poses a potential threat to public health. Drinking water plants are both the source and sink of these pollutants. In this study, we investigated and analyzed the distribution of four major types of antibiotics and ARGs in a drinking water plant with advanced treatment processes (ozone and activated carbon units) located in the central region of China. Among these treatment processes, the ozone process had significant removal effects on antibiotics and resistance genes, ranging from 15.10–91.17 % and 0.07–1.27 log, (except for ermA and qnrD) respectively. A correlation analysis of the concentrations of antibiotics and ARGs revealed a significant correlation (0.95 < r < 1) between antibiotics and ARGs, as well as between different types of ARGs. Additionally, the mechanism of ozone in the lab- and pilot-scale tests was analyzed to improve the removal capacity of ozone units for target pollutants. The experimental results showed that the removal efficiency of antibiotics and ARGs by ozone could be effectively improved by increasing the ozone dosage (5 mg/L), pH (9), and reaction time (10 min). The removal efficiency of the pollutants ranged between 36.65 % and 96.01 %. Under optimal reaction conditions, the results of the pilot-scale ozone experiment were significantly better than the actual treatment effects in drinking water plants. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for the optimization of the ozone process in actual drinking water plants.

Techno-economic assessment of doxycycline recovery using rice straw biochar: A circular economic execution

The non-scientific disposal of antibiotics has resulted in massive contamination of the bioactive molecules in the aquatic ecosystem. The presence of antibiotics in the effluents limits the biodegradation of micropollutants by affecting the micro-ecological balance. Hence this study aims to remove doxycycline antibiotics from wastewater using biochar. Elemental analysis of the biochar revealed C, Si and N as most abundant content while BET analysis confirmed the mesoporous nature of the adsorbent. The XRD and Raman spectra confirmed amorphic sp2 carbon dominant structure in the biochar. The adsorption mechanism was predicted, correlating the charge distribution and FTIR analysis. The effects of different process parameters were studied using CCD, ANOVA, and RSM. Moreover, the different kinetic models revealed that the pseudo-second-order kinetics model was the best fit and film layer diffusion was the dominant contributor. The isotherm study indicated the high adsorption capacity of the biochar and its non-ionic nature. Thermodynamics study established the spontaneity and exothermic nature. The results suggested no significant change in antibiotic removal efficiency across different system (pond water (97.13%), river water (98.11%), seawater (96.84%), tap water (99.13%), and distilled water (99.74%)). For the desorption of the antibiotic from the biochar surface, 90% ethanol was the most efficient (98.9%), and upon recrystallization by solvent evaporation, 98.7% of the antibiotic of the initial load was recovered. Hence, the implementation of this described process would enable resource recovery along with water treatment, which is not possible with existing approaches. The cost analysis of the whole process revealed that biochar preparation was the bulk expense and the process would be self-sustainable even if the price of the recovered antibiotic would be set at less than half ($41/kg) of the current market price ($94/kg) of the API. Thus, the process endorses a successful circular economy approach toward societal and economic sustainability.