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Long-Term Effects of Antibiotics on the Elimination of Chemical Oxygen Demand, Nitrification, and Viable Bacteria in Laboratory-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plants

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Abstract

Antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals are contaminants of the environment because of their widespread use and incomplete removal by microorganisms during wastewater treatment. The influence of a mixture of ciprofloxacin (CIP), gentamicin (GM), sulfamethoxazole (SMZ)/trimethoprim (TMP), and vancomycin (VA), up to a final concentration of 40 mg/L, on the elimination of chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrification, and survival of bacteria, as well as the elimination of the antibiotics, was assessed in a long-term study in laboratory treatment plants (LTPs). In the presence of 30 mg/L antibiotics, nitrification of artificial sewage by activated sludge ended at nitrite. Nitrate formation was almost completely inhibited. No nitrification at all was possible in the presence of 40 mg/L antibiotics. The nitrifiers were more sensitive to antibiotics than heterotrophic bacteria. COD elimination in antibiotic-stressed LTPs was not influenced by ≤20 mg/L antibiotics. Addition of 30 mg/L antibiotic mixture decreased COD removal efficiency for a period, but the LTPs recovered. Similar results were obtained with 40 mg/L antibiotic mixture. The total viable count of bacteria was not affected negatively by the antibiotics. It ranged from 2.2 × 106 to 8.2 × 106 colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL) compared with the control at 1.4 × 106–6.3 × 106 CFU/mL. Elimination of the four antibiotics during phases of 2.4–30 mg/L from the liquid was high for GM (70–90 %), much lower for VA, TMP, and CIP (0–50 %), and highly fluctuating for SMZ (0–95 %). The antibiotics were mainly adsorbed to the sludge and not biodegraded.

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Acknowledgments

This study (IGF 15830N/2) of the research association DECHEMA e.V. was funded by the AiF under the program of encouragement of industrial research and development (IGF) by the Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology (BMWi) based on a decision of the German Bundestag. We are grateful to Bayer HealthCare AG, Caesar and Loretz GmbH, Berlin-Chemie AG, and Lyomark Pharma GmbH, Germany, for providing the huge amounts of antibiotics used in this project. We thank A. Morio for technical and analytical support.

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  1. Department of Biology for Engineers and Biotechnology of Wastewater Treatment, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Am Fasanengarten, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Susan Schmidt, Josef Winter & Claudia Gallert

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  1. Susan Schmidt
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  2. Josef Winter
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  3. Claudia Gallert
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Correspondence to Josef Winter.

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Schmidt, S., Winter, J. & Gallert, C. Long-Term Effects of Antibiotics on the Elimination of Chemical Oxygen Demand, Nitrification, and Viable Bacteria in Laboratory-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plants. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 63, 354–364 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-012-9773-4

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