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Removal of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim from reclaimed water and the biodegradation mechanism

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Abstract

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and trimethoprim (TMP) are two critical sulfonamide antibiotics with enhanced persistency that are commonly found in wastewater treatment plants. Recently, more scholars have showed interests in how SMX and TMP antibiotics are biodegraded, which is seldom reported previously. Novel artificial composite soil treatment systems were designed to allow biodegradation to effectively remove adsorbed SMX and TMP from the surface of clay ceramsites. A synergy between sorption and biodegradation improves the removal of SMX and TMP. One highly efficient SMX and TMP degrading bacteria strain, Bacillus subtilis, was isolated from column reactors. In the removal process, this bacteria degrade SMX and TMP to NH+4, and then further convert NH+4 to NO–3 in a continuous process. Microbial adaptation time was longer for SMX degradation than for TMP, and SMX was also able to be degraded in aerobic conditions. Importantly, the artificial composite soil treatment system is suitable for application in practical engineering.

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Acknowledgements

Research was supported by the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (No. 2017ZX07202002), Beijing Natural Science Foundation (No. J150004), Key Technology and Project of Jinan Water Environment Control (No. 201509002) and National Key Research and Development Plan (No. 2017YFC0406104).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Qinqin Liu, Miao Li, Xiang Liu, Quan Zhang & Rui Liu

  2. The Institute of Crustal Dynamics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, 100085, China

    Qinqin Liu & Xuhui Shen

  3. The College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Zhenglu Wang

  4. Appraisal Center for Environment & Engineering Ministry of Environmental Protection, Beijing, 100012, China

    Xueting Shi

  5. State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR), Beijing, 100038, China

    Jin Quan

  6. Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100037, China

    Fawang Zhang

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  1. Qinqin Liu
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  2. Miao Li
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  3. Xiang Liu
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  4. Quan Zhang
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  5. Rui Liu
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  6. Zhenglu Wang
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  9. Xuhui Shen
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  10. Fawang Zhang
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Correspondence to Miao Li.

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Liu, Q., Li, M., Liu, X. et al. Removal of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim from reclaimed water and the biodegradation mechanism. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 12, 6 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1048-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1048-5

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