Veterinary antibiotics in contaminated animal manure: Fate, removal challenges, and future perspectives on conventional and emerging technologies

The pollution caused by veterinary antibiotics (VAs) has become a global concern due to their role in promoting antimicrobial resistance in the environment. Animal manure, often referred to as animal slurry, contains substantial amounts of VAs originating from animal urine and feces. Since animal manure is commonly used as a nutrient-rich fertilizer, understanding the degradation of VAs and ensuring their efficient removal are essential for effective manure management. This article critically reviews the emerging technologies effective in VA removal, such as adsorption, membrane separation, advanced oxidation processes, carbonization, and bioelectrochemical systems. While these technologies have been extensively studied for their ability to remove pharmaceuticals from common water and wastewater, their applicability to real manure treatment remains insufficiently explored. This article outlines the challenges associated with each technology, particularly concerning the complex composition of animal manure. It highlights the potential of these technologies as supplementary or post-treatment options to improve VA removal, particularly during periods of high VA usage for therapeutic purposes. Finally, the article offers several recommendations, including advancements in animal manure collection, the importance of VA removal to mitigate antimicrobial resistance, and the potential for integrating multiple technologies to optimize VA removal.