Distribution characteristics and removal rate of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in different treatment processes of two drinking water plants
Jun Wang1,2, Mingtao Huang1, Bolin Li1(), Hassan Ibrahim Mohamed3, Huanjie Song1, Gezi Li1, Ying Yu1, Han Zhang1, Weimin Xie4()
1. School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China 2. Wuhan Lingang Economic and Technological Development Zone Service Industry Development Investment Group Co. Ltd., Wuhan 430040, China 3. Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Assiut University, Assiut 71516, Egypt 4. Changjiang Basin Ecology Environment and Monitoring and Scientific Research Center, Changjiang Basin Ecology and Environment Administration, Ministry of Ecological Environment, Wuhan 430010, China
● Spatiotemporal distribution of conventional and emerging pollutants was analyzed.
● Removal of pollutants by different precipitation and filtration processes was assessed.
● Effect of ozone-activated carbon process on pollutant removal efficiency was determined.
Emerging pollutants, such as antibiotics and antibiotic-resistance genes, are becoming increasingly important sources of safety and health concerns. Drinking water safety, which is closely related to human health, should receive more attention than natural water body safety. However, minimal research has been performed on the efficacy of existing treatment processes in water treatment plants for the removal of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes. To address this research gap, this study detected and analyzed six main antibiotics and nine antibiotic resistance genes in the treatment processes of two drinking water plants in Wuhan. Samples were collected over three months and then detected and analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and fluorescence quantitation. The total concentrations of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in the influent water of the two water plants were characterized as December > March > June. The precipitation and filtration processes of the Zou Maling Water Plant and Yu Shidun Water Plant successfully removed the antibiotics. The ozone-activated carbon process increased the removal rate of most antibiotics to 100%. However, a large amount of antibiotic resistance gene residues remained in the effluents of the two water plants. The experiments demonstrated that the existing ozone-activated carbon processes could not effectively remove antibiotic resistance genes. This study provides a reference for the optimization of drinking water treatment processes for antibiotics and antibiotic resistance gene removal.
. [J]. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 2024, 18(9): 117.
Jun Wang, Mingtao Huang, Bolin Li, Hassan Ibrahim Mohamed, Huanjie Song, Gezi Li, Ying Yu, Han Zhang, Weimin Xie. Distribution characteristics and removal rate of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in different treatment processes of two drinking water plants. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2024, 18(9): 117.
Ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem Mass spectrometer
Waters
ACQITY H/TQ-S
2
Automatic solid phase extractor
Taike
SPE1000-04
3
High-capacity refrigerated centrifuges
Thermo Fisher
Micro 21
4
Real-time PCR instrument
Jena
QTower2.2
5
DNA extraction kit
MOBIO
PowerSoil
6
Fluorescence assay kits
Vazyme
ChamQ SRBR GreenII
Tab.1
Fig.1
Parameter category
Numeric value
Capillary voltage
3.0 kV
Temperature of the ion source
150 °C
Temperature of N2
550 °C
Cone air flow rate
50 L/h
Impact gas flow rate
0.15 mL/min
Tab.2
Components
Volume (µL)
2 × ChamQ Universal SYBR qPCR Master Mix
10
Positive primer
0.4
Reverse primer
0.4
Template DNA
2
ddH2O
7.2
Tab.3
Fig.2
Fig.3
Fig.4
Fig.5
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