In the recent decades, the use of antibiotics is of great concern due to their continuous input and persistence in aquatic ecosystems even at low concentrations. The lack of appropriate treatment systems in conventional wastewater treatment plant, the unsuitable disposal of unused or expired antibiotics and their incomplete metabolization in humans severely affect the quality of surface and groundwater. The present work aims to study the combination of electrochemical processes with membrane bioreactors (electro MBR/eMBR) for the removal of antibiotics from synthetic municipal wastewater. Amoxicillin (AMX) was chosen and spiked, at a wastewater, as representative of highly consumed antibiotic that is frequently detected in the aquatic environment. In order to reach the set objectives, an intermittent electric field of 0.5 and 1.15 mA/cm2 was applied between two cylindrical perforated aluminum anode and stainless steel cathode, immersed around a membrane module in a laboratory scale eMBR. For comparison purposes, the reactor was also operated as a conventional membrane bioreactor. The results illustrate that the application of electrochemical processes to membrane bioreactors was able to increase the antibiotic removal with respect to the conventional MBR.
Effect of electrochemical processes applied to membrane bioreactors on the removal of antibiotics from wastewater
BOREA, LAURA;NADDEO, Vincenzo;BELGIORNO, Vincenzo;
2017
Abstract
In the recent decades, the use of antibiotics is of great concern due to their continuous input and persistence in aquatic ecosystems even at low concentrations. The lack of appropriate treatment systems in conventional wastewater treatment plant, the unsuitable disposal of unused or expired antibiotics and their incomplete metabolization in humans severely affect the quality of surface and groundwater. The present work aims to study the combination of electrochemical processes with membrane bioreactors (electro MBR/eMBR) for the removal of antibiotics from synthetic municipal wastewater. Amoxicillin (AMX) was chosen and spiked, at a wastewater, as representative of highly consumed antibiotic that is frequently detected in the aquatic environment. In order to reach the set objectives, an intermittent electric field of 0.5 and 1.15 mA/cm2 was applied between two cylindrical perforated aluminum anode and stainless steel cathode, immersed around a membrane module in a laboratory scale eMBR. For comparison purposes, the reactor was also operated as a conventional membrane bioreactor. The results illustrate that the application of electrochemical processes to membrane bioreactors was able to increase the antibiotic removal with respect to the conventional MBR.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
