Electroactive\nUltrafiltration Membrane for Simultaneous\nRemoval of Antibiotic, Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria, and Antibiotic\nResistance Genes from Wastewater Effluent

Abstract

To combat the spread of antibiotic\nresistance into the environment,\nwe should adequately manage wastewater effluent treatment to achieve\nsimultaneous removal of antibiotics, antibiotic resistant bacteria\n(ARB), and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Herein, we fabricate\na multifunctional electroactive poly­(vinylidene fluoride) ultrafiltration\nmembrane (C/PVDF) by phase inversion on conductive carbon cloth. The\nmembrane possesses not only excellent retention toward ARB and ARGs\nbut also exhibits high oxidation capacity as an electrode. Notably,\nsulfamethoxazole degradation involving hydroxylation and hydrolysis\nby the anode membrane is predominant, and the degradation efficiency\nis up to 81.5% at +4 V. Both electro-filtration processes exhibit\nsignificant ARB inactivation, anode filtration is superior to cathode\nfiltration. Moreover, the degradation of intracellular ARGs (iARGs)\nlocated in the genome is more efficient than those located in the\nplasmid, and these degradation efficiencies at −2 V are higher\nthan +2 V. The degradation efficiencies of extracellular ARGs (eARGs)\nare opposite and are lower than iARGs. Compared with regular filtration,\nthe normalized flux of electroactive ultrafiltration membrane is improved\nby 18.0% at −2 V, 15.9% at +2 V, and 30.4% at +4 V during treating\nwastewater effluent, confirming its antifouling properties and feasibility\nfor practical application.