Co-Metabolism of Sulfonamides in Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment Incorporating Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer

水-能源-健康关系是可持续发展中最重要的交叉系统之一。该项目将把这种联系集中在污水处理上，而目前的污水处理工艺需要能量投入，不能有效去除抗生素。据估计，每年有70万人死于耐药性感染。本研究项目是开发一种新型厌氧流化床生物反应器（AFR），用于同时有效降解磺胺类药物，一种常用的抗生素，以甲烷形式产生能源，并回收再生水。然而，这种反应器类型在保留时间上表现出与传统废水处理工艺相似的高出水质量，并且具有高药物去除率和足够的甲烷产量以平衡运行电力需求的优点。据推测，这部分是由于通过AFBR中使用的颗粒导电活性炭（GAC）介质直接进行种间电子转移（DIET）。通过新的元组学分析，了解磺胺类药物的降解途径及其耐药基因的发生，将开发一种适用于其他抗生素类别的研究方法，从而进一步开发有效的药物去除、耐药基因缓解和能量产生技术。在这个项目中，我们将解决EPSRC职权范围内污水中能源和抗生素耐药性这两大全球性挑战，为水工业和健康提供双重效益。研究结果将有助于英国实现2050年法律规定的净零排放，以及英国2019-2024年抗生素耐药基因行动计划。

The water-energy-health nexus is one of the most important intersectional systems in sustainable development. This project is to focus such nexus on sewage treatment, while current wastewater treatment processes require energy inputs and could not remove antibiotics effectively. An estimated 700,000 people die each year from drug-resistant infections. This research project is to develop a novel anaerobic fluidised-bed bioreactor (AFR) for simultaneous effective degradation of sulfonamides, a common-used antibiotic, energy generation in the form of methane, and reclaimed water recovery. This reactor type has demonstrated high effluent quality at retention times similar to conventional wastewater treatment processes, however, with the benefit of high pharmaceutical removal and sufficient methane production to balance operational power demands. This is hypothesised to be due in part to direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) via the granular conductive activated carbon (GAC) media used in AFBR. By understanding on sulfonamides degradation pathway and its resistant genes occurrence using novel meta-omics analyses, an investigative method will be developed that may be applicable to other antibiotic classes, leading to further developments in effective pharmaceutical removal, resistant gene mitigation, and energy generating techniques. In this project, we will address the two global challenges of energy and antibiotics resistance posed in sewage within EPSRC Remit, offering a double benefit for the water industry and health. The outcomes will help to reach UK net zero emission as set out as law in 2050 and UK's 2019-2024 antibiotics resistant genes action plan.