In the last two decades, environmental experts have focused on the development of several biological, chemical, physical, and thermal methods/technologies for remediation of PAH‐polluted water. Some of the findings have been applied to field‐scale treatment, while others have remained as prototypes and semi‐pilot studies. Existing treatment options include extraction, chemical oxidation, bioremediation, photocatalytic degradation, and adsorption (employing adsorbents such as biomass derivatives, geosorbents, zeolites, mesoporous silica, polymers, nanocomposites, and graphene‐based materials). Electrokinetic remediation, advanced phytoremediation, green nanoremediation, enhanced remediation using biocatalysts, and integrated approaches are still at the developmental stage and hold great potential. Water is an essential component of the ecosystem and highly susceptible to PAH contamination due to crude oil exploration and spillage, and improper municipal and industrial waste management, yet comprehensive reviews on PAH remediation are only available for contaminated soils, despite the several treatment methods developed for the remediation of PAH‐polluted water. This review seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of existing and emerging methods/technologies, in order to bridge information gaps toward ensuring a green and sustainable remedial approach for PAH‐contaminated aqueous systems. Practitioner points Comprehensive review of existing and emerging technologies for remediation of PAH‐polluted water. Factors influencing efficiency of various methods, challenges and merits were discussed. Green nano‐adsorbents, nano‐oxidants and bio/phytoremediation are desirous for ecofriendly and economical PAH remediation. Adoption of an integrated approach for the efficient and sustainable remediation of PAH‐contaminated water is recommended.

A novel graphene wool (GW) material was used as adsorbent for the removal of phenanthrene (PHEN) and pyrene (PYR) from aqueous solution. Adsorption kinetics, adsorption isotherms, thermodynamics of adsorption and effect of pH, ionic strength, and temperature on the adsorption of PHEN and PYR onto GW were comprehensively investigated. Isothermal and kinetic experimental data were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, Sips and Dubinin–Radushkevich models, as well as pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The adsorption kinetic data best fit the pseudo-second-order kinetic model for PHEN and PYR sorption with R2 value >0.999, whilst the Sips model best fit isotherm data. Kinetic data revealed that 24 hr of contact between adsorbent and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was sufficient for maximum adsorption, where the Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of GW for PHEN and PYR was 5 and 20 mg g−1 and the optimum removal efficiency was 99.9% and 99.1%, respectively. Thermodynamic experiments revealed that adsorption processes were endothermic and spontaneous. Desorption experiments indicated that irreversible sorption occurred with a hysteresis index greater that zero for both PAHs. The high adsorption capacity and potential reusability of GW makes it a very attractive material for removal of hydrophobic organic micro-pollutants from water.

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