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