SBIR-STTR Award

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.

Thesaurus Terms:
antisepsis, environmental contamination, ozone, technology /technique development, water treatment Escherichia coli, antibiotic, ciprofloxacin, drug metabolism, drug resistance, hospital equipment /supply

In this Phase II project, BlueInGreen, LLC will build a hypersaturated dissolved ozone (HYDOZTM) unit to deploy in a large pilot-scale study at Springdale Wastewater Treatment Facility (SWWTF) in Springdale, Arkansas. Furthermore, BlueInGreen will collaborate with the University of Arkansas to measure the ability of HYDOZ ozonation to remove refractory microbes and stable chemical contaminants from wastewater effluent in both lab-scale and pilot- scale studies. Phase I results demonstrated the increased efficiency and effectiveness of HYDOZ ozone treatment at bench scale compared to conventional ozonation systems. Phase II research will focus on stable contaminants and refractory microbes that are not removed from wastewater using standard chlorine-based disinfection. We will show that the use of the HYDOZ to treat wastewater at centralized wastewater treatment facilities is a viable method economically and technologically to prevent the release of pharmaceutical residuals and resistant microbes to the environment. This project directly addresses the mission of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to reduce the burden of human disease and dysfunction from the environment and will demonstrate both the efficacy and efficiency of HYDOZ ozonation of wastewater effluent. The specific Phase II objectives are: " Objective 1: Compare cost and efficacy of the HYDOZ to standard disinfection/decontamination technology (BlueInGreen). Milestone 1: The capitol and operating cost of HYDOZ systems is superior to chlorine-based disinfection systems, and based on standard effluent quality parameters, the HYDOZ systems are superior to chlorine-based disinfection systems for treatment of wastewater effluent. " Objective 2: Study HYDOZ destruction of a range of chemical contaminants in wastewater effluent (BlueInGreen). Milestone 2: The HYDOZ ozonation systems will cause a minimum 90% reduction in concentration of at least six chemical contaminants from wastewater effluent. " Objective 3: Study HYDOZ destruction of plasmids and refractory microbes in wastewater effluent (University of Arkansas). Milestone 3: The HYDOZ ozonation systems will cause a minimum 90% reduction in concentration of plasmids and refractory microbes from wastewater effluent.

Public Health Relevance:
The goal of this project is to use the hypersaturated dissolved ozone (HYDOZTM) system to remove stable chemical/pharmaceutical residuals and refractory microbes from wastewater. Successful reduction of the occurrence of these contaminants in the aqueous environment will reduce long-term impacts on ecosystems and humans, and reduce the spread of antibiotic resistant microbes. 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.

Public Health Relevance:
This Public Health Relevance is not available.

Thesaurus Terms:
There Are No Thesaurus Terms On File For This Project.