title: Occurrence, distribution and potential affecting factors of antibiotics in sewage sludge of wastewater treatment plants in China.
abstract: The occurrence and distribution of eight quinolones, nine sulfonamides, and five macrolides were investigated in sewage sludge from 45 wastewater treatment plants in 23 cities in China. Among all the antibiotics considered, quinolones were the dominant antibiotics detected in all samples [total concentrations up to 8905 μg/kg, dry weight (dw)], followed by macrolides (85.1 μg/kg, dw), and sulfonamides (22.7 μg/kg, dw). High concentrations of quinolones in sewage sludge indicated that antibiotics are widely used and extensive pollutants in China. Significant differences were observed for the total concentrations of antibiotics in sludge samples among the 45 WWTPs. To evaluate the potential factors affecting the antibiotic levels in sewage sludge, wastewater and sludge characteristics, as well as the operational conditions and treatment techniques in WWTPs were investigated. The results indicated that the antibiotic levels in sewage sludge depend to a great extent on wastewater characteristics. Significant correlation between total organic carbon (TOC) and total concentrations of antibiotics was also found in studied WWTPs, indicating that TOC could affect the sludge adsorption capability to the antibiotics to some extent. Moreover, the relation between treatment techniques and the total concentrations of antibiotics in sludge showed that antibiotic levels in sludge increased with longer solid retention time.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
authors: Wenhui
authors: W
authors: Li
authors: Yali
authors: Y
authors: Shi
authors: Lihong
authors: L
authors: Gao
authors: Jiemin
authors: J
authors: Liu
authors: Yaqi
authors: Y
authors: Cai
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D013997:Time Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical