Nanomaterials for the Abatement of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products from Wastewater

Abstract

Abstract:In this short-review, the most common types of both pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCP, a class of "emerging pollutants") are considered, as well as some of the most frequent methods for their removal that envisage the use of nanomaterials. The nanomaterials used in conservative methods (namely, reverse osmosis, nanofiltration and adsorption) are basically nanoporous solids. Non-conservative methods, which include photocatalysis and Fenton reaction, are currently considered more promising than conservative ones, as the former allow the (at least) partial degradation of the original molecules into more biodegradable by-products, which can be further abated by subsequent biological treatments, whereas the former are not efficient for the removal of small quantities of pollutants and have to be regenerated.

A Review of Photocatalytic Water Purification with Metal Organic Frameworks

“…Moreover, the group of emerging contaminants (ECs) includes the wide range of personal care products, pharmaceuticals, cyanotoxins, steroids and hormones, plasticizers, caffeine, detergents, fragrances, etc. [6,8]. ECs are compounds appeared in the last decades, detected in low concentrations in the water streams and without a proper regulation in most cases, resulting a risk for human health, environment and also economic activities [9,10].…”

Removal of Agrochemicals from Waters by Adsorption: A Critical Comparison among Humic-Like Substances, Zeolites, Porous Oxides, and Magnetic Nanocomposites

“…Besides environmental pollution, the use of agrochemicals may give rise to many serious pathologies for human beings [1]. Besides the fact that the soil and the surface water are mostly exposed to them, the harmfulness of agrochemicals is enhanced by their mobility and persistence in the aqueous media [2] and by the fact that they can be dangerous also at low (sometimes not detectable) concentrations, which make them a type of emerging contaminants [3]. In order to protect the environment and human health it is important to develop proper methodologies to prevent water and/or soil contamination by agrochemicals and to remediate contaminated soils and water 1.…”

“…In particular, in some cases the residual concentration of agrochemicals in water was lower than the maximum concentration of agrochemicals that the Italian regulations allow to be released in wastewater, surface waters, or sink water.Processes 2020, 8, 141 2 of 26 bodies. The increasing concern towards agrochemicals is confirmed by many scientific works [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19], which propose many different methods for their removal.Among them, adsorption enjoys a large consideration owing to its efficiency, intrinsic simplicity, and low cost. In particular, activated carbons are the most widely used adsorbents for agrochemical removal from water [20][21][22].…”

“…Processes 2020, 8, 141 2 of 26 bodies. The increasing concern towards agrochemicals is confirmed by many scientific works [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19], which propose many different methods for their removal.…”

“…The presence of such agrochemicals is very often detected in water bodies and soils as they have been largely used as pre-emergence control of broad-leaf weeds and annual grasses in agricultural and non-crop fields [44][45][46]. Their harmfulness and carcinogenic potential are well documented and are matters of increasing concern [47] because they can be dangerous at low (hardly detectable) concentrations [3].…”