Point Source Ozonation to Minimize Antibiotic Resistance

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): BluelnGreen, LLC proposes to develop an effective, versatile and cost efficient device for the application of ozone micro-bubbles to the effluent of critical point sources of medical wastewater (hospitals, large clinics and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants) to reduce the overall amount of both antibiotic residuals and resistant pathogens that are released to the environment. By directly treating the wastewater effluent of medical point sources, the concentrations of both antibiotic residuals and bacteria can be greatly reduced before being mixed with general wastewater at a centralized treatment facility, thereby lowering the risk of developing antibiotic resistance in the wastewater treatment process and minimizing the volume of wastewater that must be treated. We estimate that the widespread use of this device will significantly contribute to the reduction of antibiotic resistant pathogens in the human ecosystem and help maintain the efficacy of medically important antibiotics. In Phase I, BluelnGreen will demonstrate that the proposed device (the ozone micro-bubbler) can more effectively and efficiently reduce the concentration of two representative antibiotic residuals (ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin) and representative pathogens (total coliform, fecal coliform, and E. coli) in a model hospital wastewater effluent pipe when compared to existing decontamination technology (chlorination and macro-bubble ozonation). We will also assess the formation of byproducts formed during oxidation of the antibiotics via ozonation and chlorination. It is our projection that the proposed technology of micro-bubble ozonation will excel over existing technologies in terms of practicality, operating cost estimate, and reduction of antibiotic and bacterial load.