Medical sewage often contains antibiotics and other drugs, pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and pollutants such as antibiotic resistance genes. The currently commonly used biological oxidation + disinfection processes can easily cause the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms and even the emergence of "superbacteria" of multiple drug-resistant microorganisms., posing new challenges to subsequent sludge treatment and hospital wastewater disinfection. In order to avoid the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms and solve problems such as incomplete disinfection, the research team has developed a new process and equipment for physical interception of pathogenic microorganisms + collaborative disinfection technology based on drugs, pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes.

This technology has developed a new fluidized bed separation method based on the coupling of particle self-revolution and microchannel filtration, which improves the separation accuracy of fine particles to 20nm, forming a physical interception technology and equipment with high accuracy, strong pollution bearing capacity, and difficulty in pollution. This technology utilizes the principle of fixed particulate bed deep filtration to prepare different functional materials to realize the regulation of microchannel in the particulate bed. Through the collision, interception and adsorption of the bed medium, the physical interception of pathogenic microorganisms in wastewater is achieved, and suspended particulate matter is significantly reduced. Help improve subsequent ultraviolet/chlorine disinfection effect; When the particle bed is intercepted and saturated, fluidized regeneration is carried out in the reverse direction. The medium particles perform a rotation-revolution coupled motion in the three-phase separator. Through the centrifugal force and pulsation formed by revolution and rotation, the desorption of the surface of the medium particles from the pathogenic microorganisms in the channels is enhanced, achieving efficient regeneration of the medium particles.

This technology has developed ultraviolet/chlorine disinfection technology and equipment. Chlorine disinfectants can produce active chlorine free radicals under the activation of ultraviolet, which can synergistically remove antibiotics and inactivate antibiotic resistant microorganisms, viruses and antibiotic resistance genes, while significantly reducing the amount of chlorine disinfectant added, effectively avoiding the generation of highly toxic disinfection by-products. Relevant results were published in the journal Chemical Engineering Journal (2019, 358:589-597.). This paper was selected as a highly cited and hot paper on ESI. The new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is an RNA virus that is easier to inactivate than antibiotic resistance genes. Research results show that the free chlorine activity generated by ultraviolet/chlorine can effectively inactivate the new coronavirus, providing technical support for risk prevention and control of the new coronavirus in hospital sewage.

There are currently more than 30,000 hospitals in our country. The discharge of hospital sewage is large. The risks of pathogenic microorganisms in hospital sewage are receiving increasing attention. There is an urgent need to develop disinfection technologies and processes for antibiotics and other drugs, pathogenic bacteria, and high-risk viruses in hospital sewage.

This technology breaks through the conventional biochemical medical sewage treatment model and builds a new medical sewage treatment model with green process and ecological discharge with physical and chemical methods as the core. Pathogenic microorganisms are intercepted and separated at the front end of sewage treatment to control the proliferation and spread of pathogenic microorganisms; UV/Cl-based disinfection methods are used at the drainage outlet to improve the safety of external drainage. Achieve near-zero emission of pollutants, near-zero landfill of waste, and significant reduction in disinfectants, with broad market prospects. Based on the original grille + ozone disinfection pool + regulation pool + contact oxidation + chlorine dioxide disinfection "process in Zone B of the Sewage Treatment Station of the Shanghai City Public Health Clinical Center, the only designated hospital for the treatment of adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Shanghai, a 45m3/h medical sewage treatment demonstration device was established to achieve zero emission of new coronavirus in hospital sewage.