Removal process of antibiotics during anaerobic treatment of swine wastewater.

High concentrations of antibiotics in swine wastewater pose potentially serious risks to the environment, human and animal health. Identifying the mechanism for removing antibiotics during the anaerobic treatment of swine wastewater is essential for reducing the serious damage they do to the environment. In this study, batch experiments were conducted to investigate the biosorption and biodegradation of tetracycline and sulfonamide antibiotics (TCs and SMs) in anaerobic processes. Results indicated that the removal of TCs in the anaerobic reactor contributed to biosorption, while biodegradation was responsible for the SMs' removal. The adsorption of TCs fitted well with the pseudo-second kinetic mode and the Freundlich isotherm, which suggested a heterogeneous chemisorption process. Cometabolism was the main mechanism for the biodegradation of SMs and the process fitted well with the first-order kinetic model. Microbial activity in the anaerobic sludge might be curtailed due to the presence of high concentrations of SMs.