The main goal of this manuscript is to review different treatment strategies and mechanisms for combating the antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) in the wastewater environment. The high amount of antibiotics is released into the wastewater that may promote selection of ARB and ARGs which find their way into natural environments. Emerging microbial pathogens and increasing antibiotic resistance among them is a global public health issue. The propagation and spread of ARB and ARGs in the environment may result in an increase of antibiotic resistant microbial pathogens which is a worldwide environmental and public health concern. A proper treatment of wastewater is essential before its discharge into rivers, lake, or sewage system to prevent the spread of ARB and ARGs into the environment. This review discusses various treatment options applied for combating the spread of ARB and ARGs in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). It was reported that low-energy anaerobic-aerobic treatment reactors, constructed wetlands, and disinfection processes have shown good removal efficiencies. Nanomaterials and biochar combined with other treatment methods and coagulation process are very recent strategies regarding ARB and ARGs removal and need more investigation and research. Based on current studies a wide-ranging removal efficiency of ARGs can be achieved depending on the type of genes present and treatment processes used, still, there are gaps that need to be further investigated. In order to find solutions to control dissemination of antibiotic resistance in the environment, it is important to (1) study innovative strategies in large scale and over a long time to reach an actual evaluation, (2) develop risk assessment studies to precisely understand occurrence and abundance of ARB/ARGs so that their potential risks to human health can be determined, and (3) consider operating and environmental factors that affect the efficiency of each treatment mechanism.

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Strategies to Combat Antibiotic Resistance in the Wastewater Treatment Plants.

This review presents the adsorptive removal process of hazardous materials onto carbon-based materials comprising activated carbon, graphene, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, biochar and carbon aerogels. Particular emphasis is placed on the fabrication of various carbon-based substances and their characteristics. As a ubiquitous phenomenon, dangerous compounds originating from industrial wastewater lead to damage to the environment and water resources. Therefore, among conventional technologies, adsorption is highly effective and the most extensively used method owing to its simplicity of performance and fairly low cost of application for the removal of hazardous pollutants. This paper comprehensively reviews a multitude of aspects regarding the chemical and physical nature of various carbon materials and their adsorption ability by increasing their surface area or their possible modification. Based on the properties of nano-carbon materials, adsorptive elimination mechanisms for antibiotics, dyes, heavy metals, pesticides, oils, phenolic and volatile organic compounds and gas pollutants are highlighted. The advantageous characteristics of nano-carbon materials assigned to their unique adsorptive removal of common hazardous substances will be pointed out.

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Carbon based materials: a review of adsorbents for inorganic and organic compounds

Insights into the fate and removal of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes using biological wastewater treatment technology

State of the art of tertiary treatment technologies for controlling antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment plants

Technologies towards antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) removal from aquatic environment: A critical review.

Degradation mechanisms of sulfamethoxazole and its induction of bacterial community changes and antibiotic resistance genes in a microbial fuel cell.

Efficient removal mechanism for antibiotic resistance genes from aquatic environments by graphene oxide nanosheet

Simultaneous removal and high tolerance of norfloxacin with electricity generation in microbial fuel cell and its antibiotic resistance genes quantification.

Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the natural environment have become substantial threats to the ecosystem and public health. Effective strategies to control antibiotics and ARG contaminations are emergent. A novel carbon nanomaterial, graphene oxide (GO), has attracted a substantial amount of attention in environmental fields. This study discovered the inhibition effects of GO on sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) uptake for bacteria and ARG transfer among microorganisms. GO promoted the penetration of SMZ from intracellular to extracellular environments by increasing the cell membrane permeability. In addition, the formation of a GO-SMZ complex reduced the uptake of SMZ in bacteria. Moreover, GO decreased the abundance of the sulI and intI genes by approximately 2–3 orders of magnitude, but the global bacterial activity was not obviously inhibited. A class I integron transfer experiment showed that the transfer frequency was up to 55-fold higher in the control than that of the GO-treated groups....

Qixing Zhou

Papers

Degradation mechanisms of sulfamethoxazole and its induction of bacterial community changes and antibiotic resistance genes in a microbial fuel cell.

Efficient removal mechanism for antibiotic resistance genes from aquatic environments by graphene oxide nanosheet

Simultaneous removal and high tolerance of norfloxacin with electricity generation in microbial fuel cell and its antibiotic resistance genes quantification.

Graphene Oxide Inhibits Antibiotic Uptake and Antibiotic Resistance Gene Propagation.

Microbial electro-Fenton: A promising system for antibiotics resistance genes degradation and energy generation.