“…Sorption processes are attractive for removal of pharmaceuticals because they are low energy, can be used on continuous-flow or batch basis, can be used in different reactor configurations including mixed slurry or fixed bed, and have the option to either regenerate and reuse the sorbent or dispose of the sorbent after complete exhaustion (Crittenden et al, 2012). Recent research on pharmaceutical removal using sorption has evaluated activated carbon (Rossner et al, 2009), mesoporous silica (Bui and Choi, 2009;Turku et al, 2007), polymer resins (Dominguez et al, 2011;Bä uerlein et al, 2012;Huang et al, 2012;Hu et al, 2012), molecularly imprinted polymers (Dai et al, 2011), and natural materials (Beltran-Heredia et al, 2012). For example, sorption of acidic, basic, and neutral pharmaceuticals in ultrapure water onto a nonionic polyacrylic resin showed the highest removal when the pharmaceutical was uncharged, which indicates non-electrostatic interactions, i.e., hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces control the sorption process (Dominguez et al, 2011).…”