Integrating microalgae with sludge-based processes for antibiotic removal: Mechanisms, performance, and prospects for sustainable treatment.
Elimian EA, de Oliveira Santiago G
Phytoremediation
Antibiotics that survive wastewater treatment end up in rivers and soils — the same water used to irrigate gardens and farms — potentially fueling drug-resistant superbugs and disrupting the microbial life your plants depend on.
When we flush antibiotics down the drain — from medicine, farming, or hospitals — most treatment plants can't fully destroy them. Scientists are now pairing tiny algae with the bacteria-rich sludge already used in sewage plants, and together they break down antibiotics much more effectively. The algae and bacteria work as a team: the algae pump out oxygen and absorb pollutants, while the bacteria digest what's left, cleaning the water while also producing useful biomass.
Key Findings
Conventional sludge-based treatment systems consistently fail to achieve complete removal of antibiotic micropollutants from wastewater.
Microalgae-sludge hybrid systems remove antibiotics via at least four distinct mechanisms: biosorption, bioaccumulation, biodegradation, and indirect physicochemical processes.
Beyond antibiotic removal, these integrated systems simultaneously deliver nutrient recovery, enhanced oxygen supply, and harvestable biomass — offering multiple sustainability co-benefits.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Antibiotics flushed into wastewater are hard to remove and spread drug-resistant bacteria into the environment. A new review shows that combining microalgae with traditional sewage sludge dramatically improves antibiotic removal through multiple biological and chemical pathways.
Abstract Preview
The occurrence of antibiotics in wastewater represents a significant environmental and public health challenge due to their persistence and the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). ...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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