MATTM - EFFICACIA DEI DIVERSI PROCESSI DI DISINFEZIONE E SPERIMENTALI NELLA RIMOZIONE DEI DETERMINANTI DI ANTIBIOTICO RESISTENZA NELLE ACQUE REFLUE (VERBANIA) (DTA.AD005.137)

Thematic area

Earth system science and environmental technologies

Project area

Structure responsible for the research project

Water research institute (IRSA)

Project manager

GIANLUCA CORNO
Phone number: 0323518300
Email: g.corno@ise.cnr.it

Abstract

The project proposal aims to define the efficiency of different disinfection systems in the removal of antibiotic determinants (i.e. antibiotic resistant bacteria, ARB; and antibiotic resistance genes, ARGs) from wastewater in settings with high human impact. The spread of antibiotic resistances (AR) is a major concern for human health at the global scale and Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) are hotspots for the spread of ARB and ARGs in environment. Nowadays no treatments have been applied to specifically remove ARB and ARGs and the efficiency of the commonly applied disinfection processes is rather low. Our proposal, applying a multidisciplinary approach that considers the ecology of the systems, the microbiology of the treated waters and a specific engineering will first compare the efficiency of traditional WWTPs in Italy and China and will then produce pilot systems designed to implement the removal of ARB and ARGs. The experimental pilot treatments will run in the Italian sites of Verbania and Novara, in cooperation with Acqua Novara.VCO SpA, owner of the 3 Italian WWTPs used for this study.

Goals

The goal is to define the efficiency of ARB and ARGs removal from wastewater applying different conventional disinfection techniques. In this respect, we will survey the removal of ARGs in 5 urban/industrial WWTPs, three located in Piedmont Region in Italy (Novara, NO; Verbania, VB, Cannobio, CN) and two in Guangzhou Region, in China (Guangzhou urban area, GU; development area GD). The selected WWTPs apply different disinfection systems (chlorination, CL; ultraviolet radiation, UV; peracetic acid, PAA), discharge in systems having different ecological resistance and resilience (lakes, rivers), have different size (from <20000 EP for CN, to >1.2 million EP for GU), and receive waters of different origin and grade of contamination. The monitoring program will consider a 1-year monthly sampling of the 5 WWTPs (2016) in order to test the efficiency in different seasons and under different environmental stresses. For all samples intra and extra-cellular ARGs will be for the first time identified and quantified.

Start date of activity

07/07/2016

Keywords

CINA

Last update: 22/04/2025