The livestock and poultry farming impact on antibiotic pollution in China and the potential of nitrogen-doped biochar for remediation
Siqi Zeng, He Yu, Xiu‐Qing Li, Yuan Li, Hailong Tian, Renpeng Yin, Qinghuan Zhang, Dayang Yu
Abstract
As one of the largest global producers and consumers of antibiotics, China's annual antibiotic production reached 223,000 tons in 2022 and continues to rise. The extensive use of antibiotics has led to severe antibiotic residues and environmental pollution, with 52 % of antibiotic residues in the environment originating from the livestock and poultry farming industry. Biochar has been widely applied in the removal of antibiotics, including active biochar, modified biochar, and heteroatom-doped biochar. Among these, nitrogen-doped biochar shows promising application prospects in antibiotic removal due to its well-developed pore structure and excellent catalytic performance. Nitrogen-rich biomass can be directly pyrolyzed to produce self-doped biochar without external nitrogen sources, and selecting suitable raw materials is key to the widespread application of nitrogen-doped biochar in removing antibiotics from natural environments. This review examines the impact of livestock and poultry farming wastewater on antibiotic pollution in China, explores the current status of using different types of biochar for antibiotic removal, summarizes the nitrogen content in nitrogen-doped biochar and its application prospects in antibiotic pollution control, and provides references for the selection of raw materials in the preparation of self-doped nitrogen biochar. This study offers valuable insights for the application of nitrogen-doped biochar in antibiotic pollution removal in China.