Pharmaceutical products have become a necessary part of life. Several studies have demonstrated that indirect exposure of humans to pharmaceuticals through the water could cause negative effects. Raw sewage and wastewater effluents are the major sources of pharmaceuticals found in surface waters and drinking water. Therefore, it is important to consider and characterize the efficiency of pharmaceutical removal during wastewater and drinking-water treatment processes. Various treatment options have been investigated for the removal/reduction of drugs (e.g., antibiotics, NSAIDs, analgesics) using conventional or biological treatments, such as activated sludge processes or bio-filtration, respectively. The efficiency of these processes ranges from 20–90%. Comparatively, advanced wastewater treatment processes, such as reverse osmosis, ozonation and advanced oxidation technologies, can achieve higher removal rates for drugs. Pharmaceuticals and their metabolites undergo natural attenuation by adsorption and solar oxidation. Therefore, pharmaceuticals in water sources even at trace concentrations would have undergone removal through biological processes and, if applicable, combined adsorption and photocatalytic degradation wastewater treatment processes. This review provides an overview of the conventional and advanced technologies for the removal of pharmaceutical compounds from water sources. It also sheds light on the key points behind adsorption and photocatalysis.
Rainwater is extremely important for the arid regions of Tunisia for a better valorization of this water, the indigenous of these regions decided to build earthen cisterns (Majel and Fesquia) to collect rain water, to satisfy their needs and to have sufficient long-term water reserve in case of prolonged drought. Despite the difficulties faced to access the mountainous regions, a survey was conducted concerning all characteristics of earthen cisterns and their uses. 120 samples of water have been analyzed in the laboratory for their physicochemical parameters such as pH, EC, sodium, chloride, bicarbonate and microbiological quality parameters such as total coliforms, and Escherichia coli. It has been noted that the majority of people (62%) used rainwater as drinking water, for animal watering and as supplementary irrigation. In fact, physic-and chemical properties of, the rainwater samples collected are suitable for consumption according to WHO 2017 standards. However, the results of our microbiological indicator analyses suggested that rainwater stored in Majel and Fesquia are not suitable for human consumption without any treatment. Rainwater can be considered as potential source for non-potable uses, such as irrigation. The samples collected were categorized as suitable with regard of SAR belonged to the excellent to good class.
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