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Performance of sewage sludge treatment for the removal of antibiotic resistance genes: Status and prospects
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This review examines how sewage sludge treatment methods affect antibiotic resistance genes, which can spread from treated sludge into soil and water when the sludge is used as fertilizer. Microplastics and heavy metals present in sludge make it harder to eliminate these resistance genes during treatment. This is a human health concern because spreading treated sludge on farmland could introduce drug-resistant bacteria into the food chain and environment.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) receive wastewater containing antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs), which are predominant contributors to environmental pollution in water and soil. Of these sources, sludge is a more significant contributor than effluent. Knowing how sludge treatment affects the fate of ARGs is vital for managing the risk of these genes in both human and natural environments. This review therefore discusses the sources and transmission of ARGs in the environment and highlights the risks of ARGs in sludge. The effects of co-existing constituents (heavy metals, microplastics, etc.) on sludge and ARGs during treatment are collated to highlight the difficulty of treating sludge with complex constituents in ARGs. The effects of various sludge treatment methods on the abundances of ARGs in sludge and in soil from land application of treated sludge are discussed, pointing out that the choice of sludge treatment method should take into account various potential factors, such as soil and soil biology in subsequent land application. This review offers significant insights and explores the abundances of ARGs throughout the process of sludge treatment and disposal. Unintentional addition of antibiotic residues, heavy metals, microplastics and organic matter in sludge could significantly increase the abundance and reduce the removal efficiency of ARGs during treatment, which undoubtedly adds a barrier to the removal of ARGs from sludge treatment. The complexity of the sludge composition and the diversities of ARGs have led to the fact that no effective sludge treatment method has so far been able to completely eliminate the ecological risk of ARGs. In order to reduce risks resulting by transmission of ARGs, technical and management measures need to be implemented.
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This review examines how antibiotic resistance genes behave during anaerobic digestion -- a common method for treating sewage sludge and animal manure before it is spread on farmland. The presence of microplastics, heavy metals, and antibiotics in the waste can actually increase the abundance of resistance genes during treatment. This matters for human health because the treated material is often used as fertilizer, potentially spreading antibiotic resistance into the food chain.
Source, occurrence, migration and potential environmental risk of microplastics in sewage sludge and during sludge amendment to soil
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This review examines microplastics in sewage sludge and the risks of applying sludge as agricultural fertilizer, finding that sludge acts as both a sink for sewage microplastics and a source when spread on fields. Co-accumulated heavy metals, antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics further complicate the environmental risks of sludge amendment to soils.
Microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes nexus in sewage sludge: impact of thermal hydrolysis process- anaerobic digestion
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Researchers reviewed the interactions between microplastics, antibiotic resistance genes, and biofilm-embedded microbial communities in sewage sludge treatment processes. The study found that these contaminants persist through wastewater treatment including thermal hydrolysis and anaerobic digestion, posing environmental and public health risks when treated biosolids are applied to agricultural land.
Microplastic contamination in wastewater sludge and its agricultural reuse risks, pathways, and management-a review
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Researchers review how microplastics enter wastewater sludge from laundry, personal care products, and urban runoff and then migrate into agricultural soils when sludge is land-applied, where they persist for years, alter soil structure, suppress microbial activity, and facilitate the spread of co-pollutants and antibiotic resistance genes.
Microplastics deteriorate the removal efficiency of antibiotic resistance genes during aerobic sludge digestion
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Polypropylene and polyethylene microplastics added to aerobic sludge digesters significantly reduced the removal efficiency of antibiotic resistance genes during digestion, with plastic particles enriching resistant bacteria on their surfaces and impeding the normal treatment-associated decline in ARG abundance, posing a risk for sludge land application.
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