Aquatic plants combined with microbial fuel cells promote sulfamethoxazole and sul genes removal from aquaculture pond sediments via bioelectrochemistry

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) 2024-11, Vol.360, p.124680, Article 124680
• Main Authors: Liu, Qiao, Zhang, Nisha, Ge, Jiayu, Zhang, Leji, Guo, Lipeng, Zhang, Hanwen, Song, Kaige, Luo, Jie, Zhao, Liulan, Yang, Song
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibiotic resistance genes; Aquaculture; Aquatic plant; Sediment microbial fuel cells; Sulfamethoxazole
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124680

Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the aquaculture environment are receiving increasing public attention as emerging contaminants. In this study, aquatic plant (P) and sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFC) were used individually and in combination (P-SMFC) to simulate in situ remediation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and sul genes in aquaculture environments. The results showed that the average power densities of SMFC and P-SMFC were 622.18 mW m−2 and 565.99 mW m−2, respectively. The addition of 5 mg kg−1 of SMX to the sediment boosted the voltages of SMFC and P-SMFC by 36.3% and 51.5%, respectively. After 20 days of treatment, the removal efficiency of SMX from the sediment was 86.17% and 89.60% for SMFC and P-SMFC group, respectively, which were significantly higher than the control group (P