Simulated-sunlight enhances membrane aerated biofilm reactor performance in sulfamethoxazole removal and antibiotic resistance genes reduction

Membrane aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs) can be used to treat domestic wastewater containing sulfamethoxazole (SMX) because of their favorable performance in the treatment of refractory pollutants. However, biologics are generally subjected to antibiotics stress, which induces the production of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this study, a simulated-sunlight assisted MABR (L-MABR) was used to promote SMX removal and reduce ARGs production. The SMX removal efficiency of the L-MABR system was 9.62 % superior to that of the MABR system (83.13 %). In contrast from MABR, in the L-MABR, only 28.75 % of SMX was removed through microbial activity because functional bacteria were inactivated through radiation by simulated sunlight. In addition, photolysis (64.61 %) dominated SMX removal, and the best performing indirect photolysis process was the excited state of effluent organic matters (3EfOMs*). Through photolysis, ultraviolet (UV) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) enriched the SMX removal route, resulting in the SMX removal pathway in the L-MABR no longer being limited by enzyme catalysis. More importantly, because of the inactivation of functional bacteria, whether in the effluent or biofilm, the copy number of ARGs in the L-MABR was 1-3 orders of magnitude lower than that in the MABR. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing simulated-sunlight to enhance the antibiotic removal efficiency while reducing ARG production, thus providing a novel idea for the removal of antibiotics from wastewater.

Automated summary

Simulated-sunlight assisted MABR (L-MABR) can enhance the removal efficiency of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and reduce the production of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Photolysis dominates the SMX removal in L-MABR, with the help of ultraviolet (UV) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) to accelerate the degradation process of SMX.