Ozone micron bubble pretreatment for antibiotic resistance genes reduction in hospital wastewater treatment

Abstract Ozone micron bubble (OMB) treatment offers a promising approach to effectively eliminate Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs) from infectious medical wastewater and mitigate the threat of drug resistance transmission. This study evaluated the effectiveness of OMB treatment for reducing ARGs f...

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Main Authors: Shui-Shu Hsiao, Chia-Yu Hsu, Balamurugan Ananthakrishnan, Ming-Hao Hsu, Yu-Ting Chien, Li-Pang Wang, Hsin-Hsin Tung
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2023-11-01
Series:Sustainable Environment Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s42834-023-00203-9
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author Shui-Shu Hsiao
Chia-Yu Hsu
Balamurugan Ananthakrishnan
Ming-Hao Hsu
Yu-Ting Chien
Li-Pang Wang
Hsin-Hsin Tung
author_facet Shui-Shu Hsiao
Chia-Yu Hsu
Balamurugan Ananthakrishnan
Ming-Hao Hsu
Yu-Ting Chien
Li-Pang Wang
Hsin-Hsin Tung
author_sort Shui-Shu Hsiao
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Ozone micron bubble (OMB) treatment offers a promising approach to effectively eliminate Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs) from infectious medical wastewater and mitigate the threat of drug resistance transmission. This study evaluated the effectiveness of OMB treatment for reducing ARGs from infectious medical wastewater in laboratory and on-site pilot treatment setups. In part, the presence of antibiotic residues in a hospital wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and the impact of hospital wastewater on the distribution of ARGs in a wastewater collection system were also investigated. The results of wastewater collection system survey revealed a high prevalence of ARGs in the system, particularly mcr-1, largely originating from medical wastewater discharges. Furthermore, analysis of antibiotic residues in the hospital wastewater treatment system showed significant accumulation, particularly of quinolone antibiotics, in the biomass of the biological oxidation tank, suggesting a potential risk of ARG proliferation within the system. Comparison of wastewater samples from domestic and hospital WWTPs revealed a relatively higher abundance of ARGs in the latter, with differences ranging from 2.2 to sixfold between corresponding locations in the treatment plants. Notably, the biological oxidation unit of both WWTPs exhibited a greater proportion of ARGs among all sampled points, indicating the potential proliferation of ARGs within the biomass of the treatment units. ARG degradation experiments showed that OMB treatment resulted in a significantly lower CT value (9.3 mg O3 L−1 min) compared to ozone coarse bubble treatment (102 mg O3 L−1 min) under identical test conditions. Moreover, the use of OMB on site significantly reduced the accumulation of ARGs in hospital wastewater, underscoring its potential as an effective solution for mitigating ARG spread.
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spelling doaj.art-bdd5e5d25a7a4a37858f7fe6df6a9ced2023-11-26T14:21:34ZengBMCSustainable Environment Research2468-20392023-11-0133111210.1186/s42834-023-00203-9Ozone micron bubble pretreatment for antibiotic resistance genes reduction in hospital wastewater treatmentShui-Shu Hsiao0Chia-Yu Hsu1Balamurugan Ananthakrishnan2Ming-Hao Hsu3Yu-Ting Chien4Li-Pang Wang5Hsin-Hsin Tung6Institute of Environmental Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of TechnologyGraduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan UniversityFeng Yu Sustainable Technology Co., LtdFeng Yu Sustainable Technology Co., LtdGraduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan UniversityInstitute of Environmental Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of TechnologyGraduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan UniversityAbstract Ozone micron bubble (OMB) treatment offers a promising approach to effectively eliminate Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs) from infectious medical wastewater and mitigate the threat of drug resistance transmission. This study evaluated the effectiveness of OMB treatment for reducing ARGs from infectious medical wastewater in laboratory and on-site pilot treatment setups. In part, the presence of antibiotic residues in a hospital wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and the impact of hospital wastewater on the distribution of ARGs in a wastewater collection system were also investigated. The results of wastewater collection system survey revealed a high prevalence of ARGs in the system, particularly mcr-1, largely originating from medical wastewater discharges. Furthermore, analysis of antibiotic residues in the hospital wastewater treatment system showed significant accumulation, particularly of quinolone antibiotics, in the biomass of the biological oxidation tank, suggesting a potential risk of ARG proliferation within the system. Comparison of wastewater samples from domestic and hospital WWTPs revealed a relatively higher abundance of ARGs in the latter, with differences ranging from 2.2 to sixfold between corresponding locations in the treatment plants. Notably, the biological oxidation unit of both WWTPs exhibited a greater proportion of ARGs among all sampled points, indicating the potential proliferation of ARGs within the biomass of the treatment units. ARG degradation experiments showed that OMB treatment resulted in a significantly lower CT value (9.3 mg O3 L−1 min) compared to ozone coarse bubble treatment (102 mg O3 L−1 min) under identical test conditions. Moreover, the use of OMB on site significantly reduced the accumulation of ARGs in hospital wastewater, underscoring its potential as an effective solution for mitigating ARG spread.https://doi.org/10.1186/s42834-023-00203-9AntibioticsAntibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)Ozone micron bubble treatmentAdvance oxidation processHospital wastewater
spellingShingle Shui-Shu Hsiao
Chia-Yu Hsu
Balamurugan Ananthakrishnan
Ming-Hao Hsu
Yu-Ting Chien
Li-Pang Wang
Hsin-Hsin Tung
Ozone micron bubble pretreatment for antibiotic resistance genes reduction in hospital wastewater treatment
Sustainable Environment Research
Antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)
Ozone micron bubble treatment
Advance oxidation process
Hospital wastewater
title Ozone micron bubble pretreatment for antibiotic resistance genes reduction in hospital wastewater treatment
title_full Ozone micron bubble pretreatment for antibiotic resistance genes reduction in hospital wastewater treatment
title_fullStr Ozone micron bubble pretreatment for antibiotic resistance genes reduction in hospital wastewater treatment
title_full_unstemmed Ozone micron bubble pretreatment for antibiotic resistance genes reduction in hospital wastewater treatment
title_short Ozone micron bubble pretreatment for antibiotic resistance genes reduction in hospital wastewater treatment
title_sort ozone micron bubble pretreatment for antibiotic resistance genes reduction in hospital wastewater treatment
topic Antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)
Ozone micron bubble treatment
Advance oxidation process
Hospital wastewater
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s42834-023-00203-9
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