An Inexpensive Treatment Process for Removing Antibiotics fromAgricultural Wastewater

摘要

Precipitation runoff from beeffeedlots is collected and eventually applied to agricultural fields through irrigation systems dedicated to one field. This water contains low levels of antibiotics (AB)and, when repeatedly applied to soils through theseirrigation systems, may promote resistance in the environment. Four studies were completed evaluating the efficacy of a proposed treatment method to remove antibiotics from wastewater before application. The first studies looked at how antibiotics partitioned into suspended solids contained in the wastewater. Next, a study was completed evaluating the efficacy of removing antibiotics using flocculation to remove these suspended solids bound with antibiotics. Finally, two studies using diatomaceous earth(DE) as a binding agent to remove ABfrom wastewater are summarized. The partitioning of antibiotics in the suspended solids contained in wastewater were very different for published values. The removal of the suspended solids bound with the AB was inconsistent at reducing loading and additional treatment was necessary. Diatomaceous earth was found to have a high capacity for removing certain ABs like tylosin through charge-charge interactions, making it a good candidate for removing AB from wastewater.The final study found the unprocessed DE that contained certain clay minerals had the greatest removal capacity. When the organic coating was removed the capacity increased. In addition, the removal of the organic coating improved the separation properties improving the potential of using this DE as a binding agent for wastewater treatment.