Contamination by antibiotics and their degradation and removal methods

Context. Antibiotics are a new pollutant with biological activity. In recent decades, the presence and fate of antibiotics in water environment have received special attention because of their persistence and resistance to biodegradation and potential risks to ecological and human health. Aims. This review addresses the current state of antibiotics, concerning the input sources and the distribution characteristics in China, and mainly summarised the degradation and removal methods applied to the antibiotics. Methods. The relevant literature from the past 20 years was reviewed, the distribution of antibiotics in China was summarised, and the method of removing antibiotics was proposed. Key results. Further optimisation and combination of the above methods was an important development direction in the future. Conclusions. The results showed that, at present, antibiotic pollution in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the lakes in China is serious, posing a potential threat to human health and the entire ecosystem. Conventional treatment, oxidative degradation and physical removal could remove degradable antibiotics to a certain extent. Further optimisation and combination of the above methods will be an important development direction in the future. Implications. The research results provided data support for exploring effective antibiotic removal methods.