Degradation of sulfonamides during anaerobic composting of swine manure

Residual antibiotics in manure pose a potential threat to public and ecological health as a result of the application of manure from animals treated with antibiotics to land. The environmental fate of sulfonamides (SAs) in swine manure after composting and field application remains largely unknown. We studied the degradation of the antibiotics sulfadiazine (SD), sulfathiazole (ST), and sulfamethazine (SM2) during anaerobic composting. We tested the effects of temperature and antibiotic concentration on degradation rates. We also evaluated the changes in pH, moisture, and biological degradation material in manure spiked with SAs and in a control. Results showed that the 3 SAs decreased by between 52.31% and 90.30% in all 9 treatments following 14 days of anaerobic composting, and the highest removal efficiencies were observed at a temperature of 35°C and initial concentrations of 6.03, 6.48, and 6.32?µg/g of SD, ST, and SM2, respectively, which were degraded by 90.30%, 85.78%, and 75.18%. Removal efficiencies for all SAs correlated well with moisture and biological degradation material of the manure. These results indicate that composting may be a practical and effective way to reduce concentrations of these three SAs in swine manure prior to its land application.