Antibiotics in wastewaters: a review with focus on Oman

Abstract

The occurrence of antibiotics in treated wastewater effluent has been a concern worldwide for various reasons: most importantly development of antibiotics resistance by bacteria and other microorganism, impact of antibiotics on animal life in surface water and likely consequences on humans if treated wastewater is used for drinking water supply through the process of managed aquifer recharge (MAR). Another potential area of concern is the uptake of these antibiotics by crops irrigated by treated wastewater. In Oman, wastewater treatment and reuse is pursued vigorously as a government policy. Treated wastewater is used for crop irrigation following government regulations, MAR is being contemplated and practiced in small scale and release of such waters in the ocean takes place from time to time. Some tests have been conducted on the wastewater effluent around the world to verify and detect the concentration of antibiotics in wastewater effluent. In the Sultanate of Oman, very little research has been performed on the occurrence of antibiotics in treated wastewater, removal efficiencies of treatment processes and development of antibiotics resistance. It is expected that wastewater reuse will increase substantially due to expansion of sewerage network in the capital city as well as many other cities and towns. As such, it is imperative that research be undertaken to find out various issues related to commonly used antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, erythromycin, linezolid, penicillin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, minocycline, tetracycline and sulfamethoxazole in Oman and their ultimate fate through the treatment process. In addition, the development of guidelines is crucial in amounts of antibiotics acceptably occurring in treated wastewater effluent and if they could be suitable for agriculture without causing any harm. A review of the available literature and data are provided in this article. Research needs have been identified.

A review on tetracycline removal from aqueous systems by advanced treatment techniques

“…19 The presence of ARB and ARG in aquaculture of Vietnam, Thailand, China, Korea, and India has been reported. ARG acquired bacteria have the ability to live under unfavorable conditions, and this bacteria can transform their resistance determinants to different environmental 21 Surface water 263.60 ng L À1 China (Yuen Long River) 22 River water 2.01 ng L À1 USA 23 WWTP effluent 0.07-0.37 mg L À1 Surface water 24 0.11 mg L À1 Ground water 24 >0.5 mg L À1 UK 10 Surface water Up to 0.11 mg L À1 Germany 10 Surface water 1.2-4.2 mg L À1 Nigeria 25 River water 0.1 mg L À1 Zimbabwe 25 Surface water 150 mg L À1 Thailand 26 Aquaculture water 180 ng L À1 Iran 27 Surface and ground water 5.4 to 8.1 ng L À1 microorganisms and human pathogens, which can thereby cause new kinds of diseases to humans. The detection of ARGs against TC in Chinese river was investigated because of its higher production rate of aquaculture in the world, and the frequent application of TC as a feed additive.…”

Occurrence and Fate of Amoxicillin and Penicillin G Antibiotics in Hospital Wastewater Treatment Plants: A Case Study - Gonbad Kavous, Iran

“…25 The highest mean residue concentrations in the effluent were 12.44, and 2.95 μgL −1 for AMX and PEN G. Heidler and Halden 26 reported fairly similar amounts of antibiotics in the effluent of wastewater, these values for antibiotics are much higher than formerly reported by some other researchers. 27,28 Extensive studies have been conducted on the occurrence of antibiotics in raw and treated wastewater of WWTPs, including urban and hospitals. 26,[29][30][31] Our results imply that the concentrations of selected antibiotics in HWWTPs are higher than most reported values.…”

Energy optimization of integrated atmospheric and vacuum crude distillation units in oil refinery with light crude

“…It was assumed that plant operates for 7 920 h/year. [17] The capital cost estimation is based on the heat exchanger unit costs.…”

“…The annualized capital cost for the heat exchanger for different ΔT min was calculated using Equation (2): [17] Heat Exchanger Cost ¼ A þ B Area ð Þ C (2) where A represents a fixed cost of installation independent of area and B is the exchanger cost per unit area taking into consideration the different materials of construction of heat exchangers. The type of heat exchanger used in the analysis was the stainless steel shell and tube heat exchanger (ss).…”