1. Treatment Trends and Combined Methods in Removing Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products from Wastewater-A Review
- Author
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Paripurnanda Loganathan, Saravanamuthu Vigneswaran, Jaya Kandasamy, Agnieszka Katarzyna Cuprys, Zakhar Maletskyi, and Harsha Ratnaweera
- Subjects
adsorption ,membrane separation ,Process Chemistry and Technology ,Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous) ,biological degradation ,Filtration and Separation ,advanced oxidation ,pharmaceutical and personnel care products ,0904 Chemical Engineering, 0905 Civil Engineering, 0907 Environmental Engineering - Abstract
When discharged into wastewater, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) become microorganic contaminants and are among the largest groups of emerging pollutants. Human, animal, and aquatic organisms’ exposures to PPCPs have linked them to an array of carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reproductive toxicity risks. For this reason, various methods are being implemented to remove them from water bodies. This report critically reviews these methods and suggests improvements to removal strategies. Biological, physical, and chemical methods such as biological degradation, adsorption, membrane filtration, and advanced electrical and chemical oxidation are the common methods used. However, these processes were not integrated into most studies to take advantage of the different mechanisms specific to each process and are synergistic in the removal of the PPCPs that differ in their physical and chemical characteristics (charge, molecular weight, hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonding, structure). In the review articles published to date, very little information is available on the use of such integrated methods for removing PPCPs. This report attempts to fill this gap with our knowledge.
- Published
- 2023