{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]],"date-time":"2026-06-15T01:53:45Z","timestamp":1781488425429,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,14]],"date-time":"2026-06-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781395200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Regional Innovation System & Education(RISE) Glocal University 30 Project through the Jeollanam-do RISE Center"},{"name":"Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea","award":["2026-RISE-14-001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2026-RISE-14-001"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JoX"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The sorption behavior of antibiotics in wastewater treatment systems plays a critical role in determining their environmental fate and removal efficiency. In this study, the sorption of 15 antibiotics representing multiple classes was investigated using two sewage sludge samples with different physicochemical characteristics. Batch equilibrium experiments were conducted to evaluate time-dependent sorption behavior and to determine solid\u2013water distribution coefficients (Kd). The results showed that sorption occurred rapidly, with most compounds approaching a stable concentration within 24 h. The Kd values varied widely depending on the compound, ranging from 74 to 737 L\/kg. For 13 of the 15 investigated antibiotics, higher Kd values were observed in sludge B than in sludge A, with the largest difference observed for tiamulin (402 \u00b1 53 and 737 \u00b1 76 L\/kg for sludge A and sludge B, respectively). Sludge B generally exhibited higher sorption capacity for most compounds than sludge A, despite having a lower specific surface area, indicating that sorption was governed primarily by chemical composition and pore structure rather than surface area alone. Elemental and morphological analyses suggested that differences in metal-associated components and pore structure may contribute to the higher sorption capacity observed in sludge B. However, the specific sorption mechanisms could not be directly confirmed by the present analyses. Comparison with previous studies confirmed that the measured Kd values fall within reported ranges but are generally higher for sulfonamides, suggesting enhanced sorption capacity of the investigated sludge matrices. Application of an equilibrium-based model demonstrated that sorption alone can account for approximately 20\u201370% of antibiotic removal under typical activated sludge conditions, depending on compound affinity. These findings highlight the importance of sludge-specific properties in controlling antibiotic partitioning and demonstrate that incorporating such characteristics into predictive models can improve the accuracy of environmental fate assessments in wastewater treatment systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jox16030112","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]],"date-time":"2026-06-15T00:44:58Z","timestamp":1781484298000},"page":"112","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Sorption of Antibiotics in Sewage Sludge: Distribution Coefficients, Sludge Characteristics, and Implications for Environmental Fate"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-1434-019X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wonsik","family":"Shin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7219-1529","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pil-Gon","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Convergence Center for Green Anti-Aging Research, Muan 58554, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Environmental Education, Mokpo National University, Muan 58554, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5584-1702","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Min-Ho","family":"Oak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Convergence Center for Green Anti-Aging Research, Muan 58554, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"College of Pharmacy, Mokpo National University, Muan 58554, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3245","DOI":"10.1016\/S0043-1354(98)00099-2","article-title":"Occurrence of drugs in German sewage treatment plants and rivers","volume":"32","author":"Ternes","year":"1998","journal-title":"Water Res."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"417","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chemosphere.2008.11.086","article-title":"Antibiotics in the aquatic environment\u2014A review\u2014Part I","volume":"75","year":"2009","journal-title":"Chemosphere"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3981","DOI":"10.1021\/es048550a","article-title":"Occurrence and Sorption Behavior of Sulfonamides, Macrolides, and Trimethoprim in Activated Sludge Treatment","volume":"39","author":"Thomsen","year":"2005","journal-title":"Environ. 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