Removal of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in an Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Treating Primary Clarifier Effluent at 20 °C

Authors

Anthony D. Kappell, Marquette UniversityFollow
Lee K. Kimbell, Marquette University
Matthew Seib, Marquette UniversityFollow
Daniel Elliott Carey, Marquette UniversityFollow
Melinda J. Choi, Marquette UniversityFollow
Tino Kalayil, Marquette University
Masanori Fujimoto, Marquette UniversityFollow
Daniel Zitomer, Marquette UniversityFollow
Patrick J. McNamara, Marquette UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Publication Date

11-2018

Publisher

Royal Society of Chemistry

Source Publication

Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology

Source ISSN

2053-1419

Abstract

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR) play a key role in future plans for sustainable wastewater treatment and resource recovery because they have no energy-intensive oxygen transfer requirements and can produce biomethane for renewable energy. Recent research results show that they can meet relatively stringent discharge limits with respect to BOD₅ and TSS when treating municipal wastewater primary effluent. Sustainable used water recovery plans should also consider removal of unregulated pollutants. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) represent an important emerging contaminant due to public health concerns surrounding the spread of infections resistant to common antibiotics. Conventional activated sludge processes have demonstrated mixed results regarding ARG removal. The objective of this research was to determine the impact of an AnMBR on ARG removal when treating municipal primary clarifier effluent at 20 °C. AnMBR treatment resulted in 3.3 to 3.6 log reduction of ARG and the horizontal gene transfer determinate, intI1, copies in filtrate. Membrane treatment significantly decreased the total biomass as indicated by a decrease in 16S rRNA gene concentration. Microbial community analysis via Illumina sequencing revealed that the relative abundance of putative pathogens was higher in membrane filtrate compared to primary effluent although the overall bacterial 16S rRNA gene concentrations was lower in filtrate. Membrane treatment also substantially reduced microbial diversity in filtrate compared to anaerobic reactor contents.

Comments

Published version. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, Vol. 4, No. 11 (November 2018): 1783-1793. DOI.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Kappell, Anthony D.; Kimbell, Lee K.; Seib, Matthew; Carey, Daniel Elliott; Choi, Melinda J.; Kalayil, Tino; Fujimoto, Masanori; Zitomer, Daniel; and McNamara, Patrick J., "Removal of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in an Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Treating Primary Clarifier Effluent at 20 °C" (2018). Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications. 203.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/civengin_fac/203