Sludge from pharmaceutical wastewater treatment plants serves as a major reservoir for antibiotics. This study aimed to investigate the residual characteristics of antibiotics in sludge from different stages of wastewater treatment under varying production loads, and to assess the potential ecological risks of physicochemical and biochemical dewatered sludge using the Risk Entropy(RQ) method. The results indicated that 11 types of antibiotics were detected in the sludge under both high and low production loads, with total detected concentrations of 401.72µg/kg and 55.02µg/kg, respectively, showing significant differences in concentrations among different antibiotics. The production load had a notable impact on the wastewater treatment process. Principal component analysis(PCA) delineated robust disparities in antibiotic concentrations and water quality parameters among various treatment stages, with these differences being more pronounced under high production loads than under low production loads. Furthermore, redundancy analysis (RDA) underscored the substantial influence of distinct wastewater quality parameters on the removal efficacy of antibiotics. Residual levels of antibiotics from pharmaceutical processes remained relatively high in both physicochemical and biochemical dewatered sludge, with elevated concentrations of 9.39µg/g in low production load physicochemical sludge and 12.91µg/g in high production load biochemically dewatered sludge. Erythromycin, roxithromycin, and sulfamethoxazole in sludge-amended soil posed a high risk (RQ>10) to aquatic organisms in the receiving environment, with sulfadimethoxine exhibiting the most pronounced environmental risk (RQ>295.04). Macrolides and sulfonamide were identified as the primary risk factors in pharmaceutical plants, and it is recommended that these be prioritized for pollution control. The ecological risk posed by mixed antibiotics was significantly higher than that of individual antibiotics. Therefore, careful consideration of the final disposal of both physicochemical and biochemical sludge is crucial.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |