Aeration-driven Peroxymonosulfate Piezoactivation by PVDF-BTO Composite Membrane for the Effective Elimination of Antibiotic Resistance Genes

With the widespread use of antibiotics, the distribution of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the aquatic environment has become a globally environmental issue. However, traditional disinfection techniques are generally ineffective in the ARGs elimination. In this study, A piezocatalysis nanofibrous membrane was facilely fabricated by incorporating BaTiO3 (BTO) nanoparticles into polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers via electrospinning approach. A novel aeration-driven peroxymonosulfate (PMS) piezoactivation system using PVDF-BTO piezoelectric membrane was developed to effectively eliminate ARGs from water. Under the external forces generated by aeration or periodic hydraulic pressure, the piezocatalytic PVDF-BTO membrane can efficiently remove 5.6-log ARGs under optimal conditions. Radical quenching and quantitative experiments confirmed the participation of singlet oxygen (1O2), hydroxyl radical (HO•), sulfate radical (SO4•-) and superoxide radical (•O2-) in the ARGs elimination process. Furthermore, the nanofibrous membrane exhibited excellent reusability, achieving a stable ARGs elimination efficiency in the tested five-cycle experiments. This study provides an attracting ARGs elimination method that could be simply integrated into the current membrane-based water treatment systems.