Feasibility of ULtrafiLtration membranes for REMOVAL of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes from secondary effluents from wastewater treatment plants

Descripción del proyecto

Eliminar las BRA del agua potable

¿Qué tiene que ver nuestra agua potable con la resistencia a antibióticos de los patógenos bacterianos que es responsable de la muerte de miles de personas cada año? Los ecosistemas acuáticos son un reservorio para las bacterias resistentes a los antibióticos (BRA). Aunque las depuradoras de aguas residuales garantizan que las aguas contaminadas se devuelvan al entorno en condiciones seguras, el aumento del consumo de antibióticos las ha convertido en focos para el desarrollo de BRA y la propagación de genes resistentes a los antibióticos (GRA). El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos FULLREMOVAL estudiará el uso de membranas de ultrafiltrado como postratamiento físico para la eliminación de BRA y GRA de los efluentes de depuradoras de aguas residuales. El proyecto ayudará a encontrar estrategias de mitigación combinando tecnologías hídricas avanzadas con análisis microbiológicos innovadores.

Objetivo

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) guarantee that contaminated water is released back to the environment in safe conditions. However, due to the rise in antibiotic consumption all over the world, they have become hotspots for the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens is responsible for the death of thousands of people every year and thus, a high-priority issue for the WHO and the EU. The use of ultrafiltration membranes as physical post-treatment is considered a promising solution for the effective removal of ARB and eARGs from WWTP effluents. However, this alternative has been studied to a limited extent and many questions remain to be tackled. FULLREMOVAL is a training-through-research project aimed at filling these knowledge gaps by investigating: a) the abundance of ARB and eARGs in a local WWTP together with the capacity of eARGs to transform non-resistant bacteria (specific objective-SO1), b) the efficiency of ultrafiltration membranes to remove ARB and eARGs from secondary effluents (SO2) and c) the role of biofouling layer formation for the spread of ARB and eARGs (SO3). The interdisciplinary approach of the hereby presented project combines advanced water technology with innovative microbiological analyses and will help to find mitigation strategies for one of the major global health threats of this century. FULLREMOVAL’s achievements will be beneficial for sanitary services all over Europe as well as adjacent sectors such as the pharmaceutical industry and water resource management. Above all, the whole society will benefit from shedding light on this important public health issue.The experience and prestige of the UFZ in conducting environmental research in all of its facets combined with the scientific expertise of the fellow in membrane technology will make the perfect tandem for the successful development of FULLREMOVAL.