Based on their characteristics and applicability, a new category of NMs is proposed for water and wastewater treatment.

This study investigated the performance of UVC/H 2 O 2 and UVC processes for the degradation and mineralization of ceftriaxone as an antibiotic. The highest ceftriaxone degradation was obtained at a solution pH of 5 and H 2 O 2 concentration of 10 mg/L. The apparent rate constant of ceftriaxone degradation was found to be 0.0302, 0.0165, and 0.0065 min −1 in the UVC/H 2 O 2 process for the initial ceftriaxone concentrations of 5, 10, and 20 mg/L, respectively. Degradation and mineralization efficiencies of ceftriaxone was obtained to be 100% and 58%, respectively, in UVC/H 2 O 2 process at reaction time of 120 min, whereas only 61% and 2.5% of ceftriaxone could be degraded and mineralized by UVC. The synergistic effect of UVC/H 2 O 2 was found to be 35%. The presence of anionic species improved the photolysis efficiency which degraded ceftriaxone from 61 to 83%, while, in the UVC/H 2 O 2 process, ability degradation declined from 100 to 70%. The efficiency of UVC/H 2 O 2 and UVC process was not greatly affected in real tap water. Besides, the reduction patterns in the UVC/H 2 O 2 and UVC processes were better described by pseudo-first-and second-order kinetics model with a reaction rate constant of 0.0165 and 0.0012 min −1 , respectively. The rate constant of ceftriaxone degradation in the UVC/H 2 O 2 process and at the presence of radical scavenger was found to be around 3.3 times lower than the one in its absence.

An unprecedented increase in urbanization and industrialization ignited by an upsurge in the development of consumer goods. This has been steadily destroying the environmental balance and ecosystem and diminishing the water quality. Inevitably, we are facing one of the biggest challenges of the time, which needs to be resolved with proper remediation strategies to provide clean water as one of the essential components for human beings and agriculture, livestock, and several industrial survivals. With the growing demand for water and sustainable improvement, utilizing unconventional water supplies such as contaminated fresh water, brackish water, and wastewater is required. Although some of the traditional water treatment and purification methods still retain their importance. However, there is a need to provide faster and more efficient technologies beyond conventional methods for treating various contaminated water sources, including emerging pollutants. Recently, catalytic processes such as ozonation and electrocatalysis, including electrocatalytic oxidation, electro-Fenton process, photo electro-Fenton process, photocatalysis, and reduction by hydrodehalogenation, exhibited unique features and have opened wide opportunities in the field of water treatment. This chapter describes various types of emerging contaminants, their effect on human health and the ecosystem, and analytical methods of ECs quantification. Moreover, the features, mechanisms, and potential applications of catalytic processes in treating emerging pollutants are discussed in detail.

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