The effect of composting on the degradation of a veterinary pharmaceutical (original) (raw)

Antibiotic Degradation during Manure Composting

Journal of Environmental Quality, 2008

On‐farm manure management practices, such as composting, may provide a practical and economical option for reducing antibiotic concentrations in manure before land application, thereby minimizing the potential for environmental contamination. The objective of this study was to quantify degradation of chlortetracycline, monensin, sulfamethazine, and tylosin in spiked turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) litter during composting. Three manure composting treatments were evaluated: a control treatment (manure pile with no disturbance or adjustments after initial mixing), a managed compost pile (weekly mixing and moisture content adjustments), and vessel composting. Despite significant differences in temperature, mass, and nutrient losses between the composting treatments and the control, there was no difference in antibiotic degradation among the treatments. Chlortetracycline concentrations declined rapidly during composting, whereas monensin and tylosin concentrations declined gradually in all...

Elimination of Macrolides, Tiamulin, and Salinomycin During Manure Storage

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2006

The extensive use of veterinary drugs in livestock farming increases the risk that these compounds end up in the environment when manure is used as fertilizer. This study focuses on the fate of antibiotics in liquid manure tanks before the liquid manure is spread on fields. A 180-day degradation experiment of four commonly used antibiotics erythromycin, roxithromycin, salinomycin, and tiamulin in liquid manure was performed. The resulting half-lives during manure storage were calculated as follows: 41 days for erythromycin, 130 days for roxithromycin, and 6 days for salinomycin. A first-order degradation rate was calculated for these three antibiotics. The concentration of tiamulin remained unchanged during the entire experiment. No degradation of tiamulin was detected even after 180 days.

Composting of swine manure spiked with sulfadiazine, chlortetracycline and ciprofloxacin

Bioresource Technology, 2012

The fate of chlortetracycline (CTC), sulfadiazine (SDZ) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) during composting of swine manure and their effect on composting process were investigated. Swine manure was spiked with antibiotics, mixed with saw dust (1:1 on DW basis) and composted for 56 d. Antibiotics were spiked to a final concentration of 50 mg/kg CTC + 10 mg/kg SDZ + 10 mg/kg CIP (High-level) or 5 mg/kg CTC + 1 mg/kg SDZ + 1 mg/kg CIP (Low-level), and a control without antibiotics. Antibiotics at high concentrations delayed the initial decomposition that also affected the nitrogen mineralization. CTC and SDZ were completely removed from the composting mass within 21 and 3 d, respectively; whereas, 17-31% of the spiked CIP remained in the composting mass. Therefore, composting could effectively remove the CTC and SDZ spiked even at high concentrations, but the removal of ciprofloxacin (belonging to fluoroquinolone) needs to be improved, indicating this antibiotic may get into the ecosystem through land application of livestock compost.

Management of antibiotic residues from agricultural sources: Use of composting to reduce chlortetracycline residues in beef manure from treated animals

Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2009

Chlortetracycline (CTC) is one of only ten antibiotics licensed in the U.S.A. for use as growth promoters for livestock. The widespread use and persistence of CTC may contribute in development of antibioticresistant bacteria. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of composting on the fate of CTC residues found in manure from medicated animals. The effect of CTC residues on composting was also investigated. Five beef calves were medicated for 5 days with 22 mg/kg/day of CTC. Manure samples collected from calves prior to and after medication were mixed with straw and woodchips, and aliquots of the subsequent mixtures were treated in laboratory composters for 30 days. In addition, aliquots of the CTC-containing mixture were incubated at 25 • C or sterilized followed by incubation at 25 • C and 55 • C (composting temperature). The presence of CTC did not appear to affect the composting process. Concentrations of CTC/ECTC (the summed concentrations of CTC and its epimer ECTC) in the composted mixture (CM) and sterilized mixture incubated at 55 • C (SM55) decreased 99% and 98% (from 113 g/g dry weight (DW) to 0.7 g/g DW and 2.0 g/g DW), respectively, in 30 days. In contrast, levels of CTC/ECTC in room temperature incubated (RTIM) and sterilized mixture incubated at 25 • C (SM25) decreased 49% and 40% (to 58 g/g DW and 68 g/g DW), respectively, after 30 days. Concentrations of the CTC metabolite, iso-chlortetracycline (ICTC), in CM and SM55 decreased more than 99% (from 12 g/g DW to below quantitation limit of 0.3 g/g DW) in 30 days. ICTC levels in RTIM and SM25 decreased 80% (to 4 g/g DW) in 30 days. These results confirm and extend those from previous studies that show the increased loss of extractable CTC residues with increased time and incubation temperature. In addition, our results using sterile and non-sterile samples suggest that the decrease in concentrations of extractable CTC/ECTC at 25 • C and 55 • C (composting temperature) is due to abiotic processes.

Degradation of some pharmaceuticals during sewage sludge composting

The fate of five antibiotics was studied during sewage sludge composting. These pharmaceutic als were fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin C 17 H 18 FN 3 O 3 , norfloxacin C 16 H 18 FN 3 O 3 and ofloxacin C 18 H 20 FN 3 O 4) and sulfonamides (sulfadimethoxine C 12 H 14 N 4 O 4 S and sulfamethoxazole C 10 H 11 N 3 O 3 S). Different composting technologies were applied. The selection of drugs was made considering the extent of consumption, resistance in soil and the results of plant uptake studies. The presence of these substances in sewage sludge and possible accumulation in plants are acknowledged, but little information is available on their degradation. No systematic work concerning biodegradation of pharmaceuticals when using different sewage sludge composting technologies has been published. This study shows that composting remarkably reduces the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals. In most experiments their concentrations decreased by 95% or more during 4 months of composting. The best results were obtained when the sludge was mixed with sawdust. In the case of using straw or peat instead the decomposition rates were lower.

Removal of High Concentrations of Veterinary Antibiotics Through Co-composting of Swine Waste

Waste and Biomass Valorization, 2020

The increasing demand for animal protein, mainly for porcine protein, has led companies and producers to investigate techniques capable of optimizing current production systems, as well as the use of drugs such as veterinary antibiotics. The incomplete absorption of these drugs by the digestive system of the animals generates effluents whose composition presents veterinary drug residues. Swine waste treatment systems (ponds) have reduced capacity to degrade these residues; thus, it is necessary to find treatment alternatives such as composting. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the composting technique in degrading 17 veterinary antibiotics often used in pig production systems. The herein adopted composting process comprised eucalyptus shavings and swine waste at the ratio 1:8 (1 kg of shavings to 8 L of swine waste). First, 25 L of swine waste were contaminated with 17 antibiotics and mixed in a bench-scale composting system for 150 days. The sample preparation consisted of the solid-liquid extraction followed by a clean-up by dispersive solid phase extraction, and then the extracts were analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Antibiotic groups such as quinolones, tetracyclines, and sulfonamides recorded fractions cumulative removal of 99.4%, 99.4% and 97.2%, respectively, at the end of the composting process. On the other hand, antibiotics such as sulfathiazole, chlortetracycline, and tetracycline recorded 100% degradation during the composting process.

Applicability of the Charm II system for monitoring antibiotic residues in manure-based composts

Waste Management, 2011

The effluence of veterinary antibiotics (VAs) to aquatic and terrestrial environments is of concern due to the potential adverse effects on human health, such as the production of antibiotic resistant bacteria. One of the main pathways for antibiotics to enter the environment is via the application of manure and/or manure-based composts as an alternative organic fertilizer to agricultural lands. While a wide diversity of manure-based composts are produced in Korea, there is currently no regulatory guideline for VA residues. Hence, monitoring and limiting the concentration of VA residues in manure and/or manure-based composts prior to application to the lands is important to mitigate any environmental burden. The current study was conducted to examine the applicability of the Charm II antibiotic test system for monitoring tetracyclines, sulfonamides and macrolides in manure-based composts. The Charm II system was a highly reproducible method for determining whether VA residue concentrations in manure-based compost exceeded specific guideline values. A wide range of manure-based composts and liquid fertilizers commercially available in Korea were examined using the Charm II system to monitor the residues of the target VAs. For this, the guideline concentrations of VA residues (0.8 mg kg À1 for tetracyclines, 0.2 mg kg À1 for sulfonamides, and 0.1 mg kg À1 for macrolides) stated in 'Official Standard of Feeds' under the 'Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act' in Korea were adopted to establish control points. Of the 70 compost samples examined 12 exceeded 0.8 mg kg À1 for tetracyclines and 21 exceeded 0.2 mg kg À1 for sulfonamides. Of the 25 liquid fertilizer samples examined most samples exceeded these prospective guidelines.

Effect of soil pH on sorption of salinomycin in clay and sandy soils

African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 2011

Salinomycin is polyether ionophore, commonly used in poultry industry for the prevention of coccidial infections and promotion of growth. A large amount of the administered antibiotic is excreted as parent compound, eventually reaching agricultural lands. This makes it imperative for researchers to understand the behavior of the compound in soil environment by conducting sorption-desorption studies. In this study, sorption of salinomycin was measured in four agricultural soils, a clay soil with low organic matter content (LOM), a clay soil with high organic matter content (HOM), a sandy soil with HOM, and a loamy sandy (LOM) soils, at three pH levels, namely 4, 7 and 9. Desorption studies was carried out using the batch equilibration technique. It was observed that more than 98% salinomycin was strongly sorbed by all soils, irrespective of the soil organic matter content or soil pH. The sorption of salinomycin to the sandy soil marginally increased as the pH decreased, while the sor...

Assessing the Suitability of the Composting Process in Treating Contaminating Pesticides and Pathogenic Wastes

Composting is a treatment which has been employed for organic wastes such as household wastes, yard wastes, manure and municipal solid wastes. More and more, wastes, hazardous in nature, such as polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), contaminated soils, oily/petroleum wastes and explosives are nowadays being treated through composting. By the inherent characteristics of the composting process, the toxicity of hazardous wastes is strongly reduced and the compost can be safely disposed as landfill cover or other less expensive methods. This paper assesses the suitability of the composting process in treating hazardous wastes, mainly livestock wastes and pesticide-contaminated wastes. It analyses in general the parameters involved in the degradation of the hazardous wastes. For livestock wastes composting, it focuses on the heat/temperature inactivation of microorganisms and the use of indicators to judge the outcome of the process. In the case of pesticide-contaminated green wastes composting, the degradation of the pesticide molecules during the composting process is studied. The composting of green wastes contaminated with chlorinated herbicides has shown that the composting process was favourable to the microbial metabolism of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and atrazine. Various parameters contributed to the biodegradation such that loss of 2,4-D occurred at a faster rate than atrazine. The biodegradation of atrazine was initiated by nucleophilic displacement of chloride ion. During composting of livestock wastes, hygienisation was attained at a maximum temperature of 66.4°C and log 10 reductions of –8.03, –8.18 and –5.96 were noted for faecal coliforms (FC), Escherichia coli (EC) and faecal enteroccocci (FE). Hence, it has been demonstrated that FC and EC could be more rapidly destroyed at elevated temperatures compared to FE.