Sulfamethoxazole removal in nitrifying membrane aerated biofilms: Physiological responses and antibiotic resistance genes

Efficient removal of ammonia nitrogen and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) from wastewater has become increasingly critical due to their detrimental effects on aquatic ecosystems and public health. This study aimed to investigate the nitrogen transformation and SMX removal in a membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) under different SMX concentrations (0–200 μg L−1) with a nitrifying membrane bioreactor (MBR) as a control. Results suggested that SMX removal in MABR was better than that of MBR with SMX addition (50–200 μg L−1). Membrane aerated biofilms tended to secrete more extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and generate less antioxidant enzymes in response to SMX stress when compared with nitrifying sludge in MBR. Metagenomic analysis indicated that distinct succession of microbial community was observed in both systems after SMX addition, and the relative abundance of nitrifying bacteria (Nitrosomonas, Nitrospira, and Nitrobacter) evidently decreased under SMX concentration of 200 μg L−1. The proliferation of predominant antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) sul2 was suppressed more obviously in MABR than that in MBR. Thus, this study provided extensive insights into the advantages of nitrifying MABR in simultaneous removal of ammonium and antibiotics with less risk of associated ARGs spread. [Display omitted] •MABR outperformed MBR in SMX removal due to its effective oxygen transmission.•EPS was significantly suppressed under high SMX concentration (∼200 μg L−1).•MABR had more efficient antioxidant defense and lower oxidative stress level.•Relative abundance of main SMX associated resistance gene sul2 was lower in MABR.