Occurrence of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes and viral genomes in wastewater effluents and their treatment by a pilot scale nanofiltration unit

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Citations (Scopus)
32 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin), carbapenem and fluoroquinolone resistance genes, as well as viral genomes, were detected in grab samples of wastewater effluents. Passive samplers, which are simpler and easier to use and provide information about the concentrations and combination of contaminants present in a certain fluid matrix over time, proved to be extremely promising devices to monitor the presence of the target antibiotics in wastewater effluents. Nanofiltration was tested with a pilot-scale unit installed at a domestic wastewater treatment facility, using a Desal 5DK membrane operated at a constant transmembrane pressure of 6 bar and 70% recovery rate. In a 24 h experimental assay, the variation of the membrane permeance was low (6.3%). High rejections of the target contaminants from the wastewater effluent were obtained by the pilot-scale treatment. Hence, nanofiltration using the Desal 5DK membrane is considered to be a promising treatment to cope with chemical and biological contaminants present in wastewater effluents.

Original languageEnglish
Article number9
Pages (from-to)1-16
Number of pages16
JournalMembranes
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2021

Keywords

  • Antibiotic resistance genes
  • Antibiotics
  • Nanofiltration
  • Occurrence
  • Pilot-scale treatment
  • Viral genomes
  • Wastewater effluents

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Occurrence of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes and viral genomes in wastewater effluents and their treatment by a pilot scale nanofiltration unit'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this