Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plants

Khasawneh, Omar Fawzi Suleiman; Palaniandy, Puganeshwary

doi:10.1016/j.psep.2021.04.045

Cited by 157 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 155 publications

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“…The pharmaceutical pollutants are environmentally persistent substances. Trace amounts of pharmaceutical ingredients, such as birth control pills, anti-epileptics, pain relievers, and antidepressant medications, are found in many urban and rural sources of groundwater [180]. While operating, solar power generation facilities produce less greenhouse gas emissions, including air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide, than conventional fossil fuel-based power generation facilities [181].…”

Section: Future Perspectives and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Strategies for Bioremediation of Emerging Pollutants: A Review for a Green and Sustainable Environment

Bala

Garg

Thirumalesh

et al. 2022

Toxics

290

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Environmental pollution brought on by xenobiotics and other related recalcitrant compounds have recently been identified as a major risk to both human health and the natural environment. Due to their toxicity and non-biodegradability, a wide range of pollutants, such as heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls, plastics, and various agrochemicals are present in the environment. Bioremediation is an effective cleaning technique for removing toxic waste from polluted environments that is gaining popularity. Various microorganisms, including aerobes and anaerobes, are used in bioremediation to treat contaminated sites. Microorganisms play a major role in bioremediation, given that it is a process in which hazardous wastes and pollutants are eliminated, degraded, detoxified, and immobilized. Pollutants are degraded and converted to less toxic forms, which is a primary goal of bioremediation. Ex situ or in situ bioremediation can be used, depending on a variety of factors, such as cost, pollutant types, and concentration. As a result, a suitable bioremediation method has been chosen. This review focuses on the most recent developments in bioremediation techniques, how microorganisms break down different pollutants, and what the future holds for bioremediation in order to reduce the amount of pollution in the world.

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Section: Future Perspectives and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Strategies for Bioremediation of Emerging Pollutants: A Review for a Green and Sustainable Environment

Bala

Garg

Thirumalesh

et al. 2022

Toxics

290

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Since the early 2000s, a significant amount of research efforts has been expended on understanding the occurrence and fate of pharmaceuticals in the environment, as well as their effects on aquatic biota and human. Many pharmaceutical compounds show persistence to the biological treatment processes in municipal wastewater treatment plants, and surveys showed the ubiquitous occurrence of pharmaceutical compounds and their metabolites in the natural environment (Khasawneh and Palaniandy 2021 ). Residues of prescription and over-the-counter drugs were found in leachates of municipal solid waste landfills, while antibiotics that can alter natural bacterial species, anti-depressants, diabetes and hormone drugs were found in groundwater and surface water (Kümmerer 2009 ; Świacka et al 2022 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barcoding drug information to recycle unwanted household pharmaceuticals: a review

Han

2022

Environ Chem Lett

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Huge quantities of unwanted pharmaceuticals are left in households, notably as a consequence of the rising drug demand caused by improved healthcare and the aging population. Unwanted pharmaceuticals may thus easily end up polluting ecosystems upon disposal. This pharmaceutical waste issue has been aggravated during the coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) by excess prescription and panic buying. Unwanted household pharmaceuticals are normally collected by owners and volunteers, then incinerated in centralized facilities, yet with low efficiency during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Most pharmaceuticals could be recycled because they are rather stable, however there is actually no sustainable strategy to manage unwanted pharmaceuticals in a pandemic. Here I review the management of unwanted pharmaceuticals in households during the pandemic, with emphasis on drug take-back programs, waste minimization and recycling efforts. Reducing pharamaceutical waste could be done by informing people on what to do with unwanted pharmaceutical products; using machine-readable codes for automatic sorting; and applying existing techniques for recovery of active pharmaceutical ingredients for reuse. I propose a new strategy where owners sort their unwanted pharmaceuticals and submit information online. This will generate coded mailing labels that allow the owner to separate pharmaceuticals into categories such as opened, unused, expired, and non-expired. Once collected by recycling facilities and manufacturers, active ingredients will be extracted to create new pharmaceuticals which will be recycled to other patients.

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“…However, these conventional primary and secondary methods generally encounter major constraints. For example, the high levels of electricity consumption by ozone generators and aeration/chlorine/ozone blowers to continuously supply the high volumes of oxidants necessary for the respective process is a major economic challenge. − The formation of potential toxic trihalomethane secondary products during chlorination and of carcinogenic bromate byproducts from bromide-containing organic wastes during ozonation creates health concerns. , Moreover, the presence of drug and pharmaceutical intermediates and metabolites is also increasingly becoming a problem and several reviews on this topic are available in the recent literature. , Poly- and per- fluoroalkyls (PFAs, C n F 2 n +1 -R, where R is a functional group) are bioaccumulative recalcitrant organic pollutants owing to their inherent photo- and bioresistance properties. The reports of the European Chemical Agency and the US Environmental Protection Agency published in 2020–21 have drawn attention the existence of persistent PFAs in soils and drinking waters. − PFAs were also found at varying levels in fish, marine birds and mammals, surface waters, and wastewater treatment plant effluents and sludges in the Nordic environment (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland) .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5,6 Moreover, the presence of drug and pharmaceutical intermediates and metabolites is also increasingly becoming a problem and several reviews on this topic are available in the recent literature. 7,8 Poly-and per-fluoroalkyls (PFAs, C n F 2n+1 -R, where R is a functional group) are bioaccumulative recalcitrant organic pollutants owing to their inherent photo-and bioresistance properties. The reports of the European Chemical Agency and the US Environmental Protection Agency published in 2020−21 have drawn attention the existence of persistent PFAs in soils and drinking waters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges Facing Sustainable Visible Light Induced Degradation of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyls (PFA) in Water: A Critical Review

2022

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Poly-and perfluoroalkyls (PFAs) are now designated as serious threats to the environment. More than 4700 PFAs, along with their precursors, show a high degree of persistence and long-range spreading in soils and waters causing recalcitrant bioaccumulation in plants, fish, birds, and mammals causing health hazards all along the food chain. Visible-light induced degradation of PFA in pure water using photocatalysts, a potentially sustainable advanced oxidation process, showed exciting results in laboratories for both complete and partial mineralization of these toxins. However, none of the methods and materials have been considered so far for upscaling toward practical applications due to several hard-to-resolve challenges. This Review provides a critical analysis of the recent advancements in photocatalytic remediation of aqueous PFA under visible light irradiation and addresses possible future directions to valorize some of the prospective methods and materials to practical applications.

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Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plants

Cited by 157 publications

References 155 publications

Recent Strategies for Bioremediation of Emerging Pollutants: A Review for a Green and Sustainable Environment

Recent Strategies for Bioremediation of Emerging Pollutants: A Review for a Green and Sustainable Environment

Barcoding drug information to recycle unwanted household pharmaceuticals: a review

Challenges Facing Sustainable Visible Light Induced Degradation of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyls (PFA) in Water: A Critical Review

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