Antibiotics,
the most frequently prescribed drugs of modern medicine, are extensively
used for both human and veterinary applications. Antibiotics from
different wastewater sources (e.g., municipal, hospitals, animal production,
and pharmaceutical industries) ultimately are discharged into wastewater
treatment plants. Sorption and biodegradation are the two major removal
pathways of antibiotics during biological wastewater treatment processes.
This review provides the fundamental insights into sorption mechanisms
and biodegradation pathways of different classes of antibiotics with
diverse physical–chemical attributes. Important factors affecting
sorption and biodegradation behavior of antibiotics are also highlighted.
Furthermore, this review also sheds light on the critical role of
extracellular polymeric substances on antibiotics adsorption and their
removal in engineered biological wastewater treatment systems. Despite
major advancements, engineered biological wastewater treatment systems
are only moderately effective (48–77%) in the removal of antibiotics.
In this review, we systematically summarize the behavior and removal
of different antibiotics in various biological treatment systems with
discussion on their removal efficiency, removal mechanisms, critical
bioreactor operating conditions affecting antibiotics removal, and
recent innovative advancements. Besides, relevant background information
including antibiotics classification, physical–chemical properties,
and their occurrence in the environment from different sources is
also briefly covered. This review aims to advance our understanding
of the fate of various classes of antibiotics in engineered biological
wastewater treatment systems and outlines future research directions.
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