Efficiency of RO/NF membranes at the removal of veterinary antibiotics

Abstract

The production of pharmaceuticals has increased rapidly during the last several decades as they have been used for the health of both humans and animals. Routes of environmental exposure include the release of treated wastewater, the land disposal of livestock manures and municipal biosolids (i.e. sewage sludge), as well as the use of medicated aquaculture feed. This study deals with application of reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes for removing of antibiotic residues (sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, dexamethasone and febantel) and their mixture. According to the results obtained in this work the use of RO (LFC-1 and XLE) and the tight NF (NF90) membranes are recommended to achieve a high level of retention (>95%) of all selected veterinary antibiotics (VAs). Nanofiltration NF270, NF and HL membranes showed a lower rejection of individual components, but much higher in a mixture solution, due to the synergistic effect.

Pharmaceuticals of Emerging Concern in Aquatic Systems: Chemistry, Occurrence, Effects, and Removal Methods

“…226 For example, a 31 mg/L maximum ciprofloxacin concentration in effluent waters was reported in India, 191 and a 28 mg/L maximum trimethoprim concentration was found in Croatia. 242 An ibuprofen concentration of 1.67 mg/L has been reported in Lahore, Pakistan. 243 High concentrations of ciprofloxacin (3.0−5.25 mg/L), doxycycline (1.58−6.75 mg/ L), levofloxacin (0−6.20 mg/L), ofloxacin (2.45−4.12 mg/L), and oxytetracycline (0−9.40 mg/L) were recorded in the wastewater of pharmaceutical manufacturing units near Lahore.…”

“…This is more serious in developing nations which lack proper industrial effluent treatment . For example, a 31 mg/L maximum ciprofloxacin concentration in effluent waters was reported in India, and a 28 mg/L maximum trimethoprim concentration was found in Croatia . An ibuprofen concentration of 1.67 mg/L has been reported in Lahore, Pakistan .…”

Preparation of hydrophilic nanofiltration membranes for removal of pharmaceuticals from water

“…Depending on contaminant concentration in the effluent and the process cost, different methods can be chosen. Membrane filtration processes of RO and NF have been shown to have a greater ability to reject pharmaceuticals from aqueous matrices [ 31 ].…”

Removal of Antibiotic Emerging Pollutants: An Overview

“…Dolar et al investigated the application of different membranes of direct osmosis, such as LFC-1 and XLE, and nanofiltration (NF90, NF270, NF) in the removal of antibiotics of veterinary origin, such as ciprofloxacin and other types of antibiotics, obtaining high retention levels greater than 95% for direct osmosis membranes. However, nanofiltration membranes showed retention percentages ranging from 15% to 100%, attributing each retention to the molecular mass of antibiotics [178,179].…”