AAPlasma is proud to announce that we have been chosen by the Environmental Protection Agency to receive funding for our project (“Non-Thermal Plasma Assisted Inactivation of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Wastewater”) as part of their 2019 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding.

In this project, AAPlasma, with the support of Drexel University's Nyheim Plasma Institute, will be working with the EPA to develop a novel and affordable integration of a gliding arc discharge (GAD) plasma treatment system into the existing wastewater treatment infrastructure. This integration will offer better protection from the three largest factors that lead to antimicrobial risks: antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in industrial wastewater.

Factors such as an increase in global antibiotic availability, inadequate treatment of wastewater from pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, uncontrolled or over-the-counter antibiotic sales, and high antibiotic use in livestock feed have led to the rapidly-developing threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in our water systems. Current wastewater treatment measures are ineffective at reducing the number of ARB, with some unit processes in wastewater treatment plants even exacerbating the problem. The resulting rise in infections from pathogens resistant to our main medical defenses poses a serious problem to public health. 

AAPlasma is proud to be looking for a solution to this pressing problem, and we thank the EPA for giving us the opportunity to make an impact in this global crisis.