The detection of antibiotics in water systems has instigated great environmental concern due to the toxicological effects associated with these compounds. Their discharge into the environment results from the ubiquity of use in medical, veterinary, and agricultural practices. Some of the effects of antibiotics include development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, making it difficult to treat diseases, variation in natural microbial communities, and enzyme activities. In this study, the first comprehensive survey of some frequently used antibiotics namely ampicillin (AMP), amoxicillin (AMX), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), chloramphenicol (CAP), and ciprofloxacin (CPF) within Lake Victoria Basin of Kenya is presented. Sludge and wastewater samples were collected from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and hospital lagoons within the study area. Samples were extracted and cleaned by solid-phase extraction, and analysis was carried out using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). All wastewater samples and sludge collected contained quantifiable levels of the selected antibiotics. The highest concentrations were recorded for AMP with WWTPs and hospitals having 0.36 ± 0.04 and 0.79 ± 0.07 μg/L, respectively. In sludge samples, SMX recorded the highest concentrations of 276 ± 12 ng/g. The high levels in sludge indicate the preferential partition of antibiotics onto solid phase, posing great danger to consumers of crops grown in biosolid-amended soils. The daily discharge loads of antibiotics from nine WWTPs ranged between 80.75 and 3044.9 mg day(-1) with a total discharge of 6395.85 mg day(-1), signifying a high potential of water resource pollution within the region. This report will aid in the assessment of the risks posed by antibiotics released into the environment.

In this study, clinoptilolite was used to sequester ciprofloxacin (CIP) and caffeine (CAF), two emergent contaminants, from aqueous solution using batch equilibration method and the effects of contact time, pH, initial contaminant concentration, temperature and adsorbent dosage investigated and herein reported. The adsorption kinetics was described by the pseudo-second-order model (PSO) and pore diffusion was not the sole operative rate-controlling step as depicted by the intraparticle diffusion model. The equilibrium data were modelled using three linear forms of Langmuir equation and Freundlich model and was best fitted by the Lineweaver-Burk linearization of Langmuir equation (type-1). Linearization is shown to induce errors that may lead to discrepancies in parameter values estimation. The derived thermodynamic functions revealed the adsorption processes are exothermic, spontaneous and physical in nature. The adsorption mechanism of CIP is strongly controlled by electrostatic interactions while CAF adsorption is weakly affected by changes in pH. The findings demonstrate that clinoptilolite in its unmodified form is a potential low-cost and eco-friendly adsorbent for removal of pharmaceutically active ingredients from water.

Pesticides newly introduced into the soil are normally poorly degraded by the native soil microbes. However, studies have demonstrated that repeated pesticide exposure to the soil microbes potentially enhances their biodegradation through selective enrichment of the pesticide-metabolizing microorganisms, particularly when the compound is used as a C or N and energy source. Enhanced degradation of recalcitrant compounds in soil has a significant environmental impact as the chemicals are less likely to contaminate the environmental ecosystems. We have undertaken several studies to isolate these adapted microbes which rapidly degrade chemicals hitherto known to be recalcitrant in soil. These microbes could potentially be used for bioremediation (bioaugmentation). In addition, other studies have shown the potential to remove pesticide contamination from the environment by use of organic materials locally generated as organic amendments (biostimulation). In this review, the various methods used in the course of our studies in determining the utilization of the selected chemicals (pesticides) by the adapted microbes as a source of C and N for growth and energy are discussed. We also present some of the compounds we have worked with and the successes registered in isolating key degraders of the respective pesticides and the extent the locally generated organic materials are able to enhance the degradation of the respective chemicals in soil.