Removing high strength lincomycin in pharmaceutical wastewater by a bacteria microalgae consortium co-immobilized filter.

[Display omitted] • A bacterium-microalgae consortium co-immobilized filter had superior LIN efficiency. • The filter removed 98.54 % of LIN within 7 days. • The main LIN removed mechanism of the BMC system was bio-degradation. • LIN degraded products were less toxic than their substrate. • Eco-toxicity of ARGs was alleviated by the carriers' absortion. Lincomycin (LIN) in pharmaceutical wastewater would enter municipal wastewater treatment plants and decrease their performance, leading to residual LIN enter the natural environment and pose serious eco-risk. In this study, a bacterium-microalgae consortium co-immobilized filter (BMCCF) was established and used to remove LIN in artificial pharmaceutical wastewater treatment plants effluents (PWWTPE). LIN removal mechanisms and degradation products' eco-toxicity was studied, and the abundance change of class 1 integrase gene (intI1) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) was monitored. As a result, 98.54% of 82 mg L-1 LIN was removed within 7 days, LIN removal was mainly attributed to bio-degradation by the Bacillus subtilis strain, and LIN degradation products were less toxic than their substrate. Therefore, the BMCCF established in this study provides a promising alternative for the bio-treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater containing high concentration of LIN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]