Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater: occurrence and removal technologies

Antibiotics are being used intensively for humans and livestock worldwide and led to the presence of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. The existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are not designed to remove them. Consequently, surface water is a potential receptor of antibiotics and ARGs. Therefore, additional treatment technologies are needed to overcome the current drawbacks of our WWTPs. In this thesis, antibiotics and ARGs were measured in the surface water up to 20 km after being treated by a WWTP (with a post-treatment). A significant contribution of antibiotics and ARGs were observed in the environment. Therefore, treatment technologies based on natural systems, physicochemical technologies, or advanced biological technologies were selected to explore their effectiveness for reducing antibiotics and ARGs. Based on these findings, we can understand the occurrence of the antibiotics and ARGs in the environment, and the potential of these technologies for removing them.