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Occurrence and removal of multiple classes of antibiotics and antimicrobial agents in biological wastewater treatment processes

Very little information on the occurrence and fate of multiple classes of antimicrobials in the aquatic environment is reported for the Southeast Asian region. This study provides the first and comprehensive data on the occurrence of ten different classes of antimicrobials in wastewater samples for...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water research (Oxford) 2016-11, Vol.104, p.461-472
Main Authors: Tran, Ngoc Han, Chen, Hongjie, Reinhard, Martin, Mao, Feijian, Gin, Karina Yew-Hoong
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Very little information on the occurrence and fate of multiple classes of antimicrobials in the aquatic environment is reported for the Southeast Asian region. This study provides the first and comprehensive data on the occurrence of ten different classes of antimicrobials in wastewater samples for Singapore. Among the investigated antimicrobials, 19 out of 21 target compounds were detected in 100% of the collected raw influent samples. Concentrations of the detected antimicrobials in raw influent varied from 23.8 to 43,740 ng/L. Removal of antimicrobials by conventional activated sludge (CAS) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems at a local wastewater treatment plant was evaluated. MBR exhibited better performance over CAS for most target antimicrobials. Beta-lactam, glycopeptide, and fluoroquinolone classes were largely eliminated by biological wastewater treatment processes, whereas trimethoprim and lincosamides appeared to be persistent. Effects of physicochemical properties and chemical structures of target antimicrobials on their removal efficiencies/mechanisms during wastewater treatment process were also discussed. •Ten different classes of antimicrobials were ubiquitously detected in wastewater.•Beta-lactam, glycopeptide and fluoroquinolone classes were largely removed in WWTP.•TMP and LIN were persistent throughout WWTP.•MBR exhibited better performance over CAS for most target antimicrobials.
ISSN:0043-1354
1879-2448
DOI:10.1016/j.watres.2016.08.040