Print Email Facebook Twitter Upgrading residues from wastewater and drinking water treatment plants as low-cost adsorbents to remove extracellular DNA and microorganisms carrying antibiotic resistance genes from treated effluents Title Upgrading residues from wastewater and drinking water treatment plants as low-cost adsorbents to remove extracellular DNA and microorganisms carrying antibiotic resistance genes from treated effluents Author Calderon Franco, D. (TU Delft BT/Environmental Biotechnology) Apoorva, Seeram (Student TU Delft) Medema, G.J. (TU Delft Sanitary Engineering; KWR Water Research Institute) van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (TU Delft BT/Environmental Biotechnology) Weissbrodt, D.G. (TU Delft BT/Environmental Biotechnology) Date 2021 Abstract Wastewater treatment is challenged by the continuous emergence of chemical and biological contaminants. Disinfection, advanced oxidation, and activated carbon technologies are accessible in high-income countries to suppress them. Low-cost, easily implementable, and scalable solutions are needed for sanitation across regions. We studied the properties of low-cost absorbents recycled from drinking water and wastewater treatment plant residues to remove environmental DNA and xenogenetic elements from used water. Materials characteristics and DNA adsorption properties of used iron-oxide-coated sands and of sewage-sludge biochar obtained by pyrolysis of surplus activated sludge were examined in bench-scale batch and up-flow column systems. Adsorption profiles followed Freundlich isotherms, suggesting a multilayer adsorption of nucleic acids on these materials. Sewage-sludge biochar exhibited high DNA adsorption capacity (1 mg g−1) and long saturation breakthrough times compared to iron-oxide-coated sand (0.2 mg g−1). Selected antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements present on the free-floating extracellular DNA fraction and on the total environmental DNA (i.e., both extra/intracellular) were removed at 85% and 97% by sewage-sludge biochar and at 54% and 66% by iron-oxide-coated sand, respectively. Sewage-sludge biochar is attractive as low-cost adsorbent to minimize the spread of antimicrobial resistances to the aquatic environment while strengthening the role of sewage treatment plants as resource recovery factories. Subject Xenogenetic elementssewage-sludge biochariron-oxideAdsorptionWastewaterFree-floating extracellular DNA To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:367a8ef2-798b-4790-babb-b21a3831d5a8 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146364 ISSN 0048-9697 Source Science of the Total Environment, 778 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2021 D. Calderon Franco, Seeram Apoorva, G.J. Medema, Mark C.M. van Loosdrecht, D.G. Weissbrodt Files PDF 1_s2.0_S0048969721014327_main.pdf 2.17 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:367a8ef2-798b-4790-babb-b21a3831d5a8/datastream/OBJ/view