Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products in Different Matrices: Occurrence, Pathways, and Treatment Processes

Abstract

The procedures for analyzing pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are typically tedious and expensive and thus, it is necessary to synthesize all available information from previously conducted research. An extensive collection of PPCP data from the published literature was compiled to determine the occurrence, pathways, and the effectiveness of current treatment technologies for the removal of PPCPs in water and wastewater. Approximately 90% of the compiled published papers originated from Asia, Europe, and the North American regions. The incomplete removal of PPCPs in different water and wastewater treatment processes was widely reported, thus resulting in the occurrence of PPCP compounds in various environmental compartments. Caffeine, carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, triclosan, and triclocarban were among the most commonly reported compounds detected in water and solid matrices. Trace concentrations of PPCPs were also detected on plants and animal tissues, indicating the bioaccumulative properties of some PPCP compounds. A significant lack of studies regarding the presence of PPCPs in animal and plant samples was identified in the review. Furthermore, there were still knowledge gaps on the ecotoxicity, sub-lethal effects, and effective treatment processes for PPCPs. The knowledge gaps identified in this study can be used to devise a more effective research paradigm and guidelines for PPCP management.

New Aspects of Occurrence and Removal of Emerging Pollutants

“…This review, based on 153 scientific articles from the last 15 years, addresses the issue of the presence of EPs from the PPCPs group in aqueous and biological samples [6]. The collected data indicate the widespread presence of pollutants in samples from all over the world, at concentrations ranging from ng/L to µg/L.…”

“…The presence of PPCPs registered in the tissues of plants and animals, in addition to the bioaccumulation of some compounds in food chains, is disturbing. The authors of the work [6] indicate an insufficient number of studies on the presence of PPCPs in living organisms as well as its ecotoxicity.…”

“…The Water Special Issue consists of six articles, two of which are reviews and four that present the results of the experiments carried out. The occurrence characteristics were presented in particular for compounds from the group of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) [6]. Other published studies focused on the removal of EPs by biological (phytoremediation) [7,8] as well as chemical (oxidation) [9] and physical (sorption and reverse osmosis) methods [10,11].…”

Preparation of Synthetic Clays to Remove Phosphates and Ibuprofen in Water

“…However, their effects are worrying since continuous exposure can lead to endocrine system alterations, antibiotic resistance, or fetal exposure, among others [5,6]. There are still knowledge gaps on the ecotoxicity, sub-lethal effects, and effective treatment processes for PPCPs [7]. The treatment of pharmaceutical compounds is considered of great importance due to their recalcitrant nature, capacity to bioaccumulate, potential toxicity, and their alteration of the endocrine system [8].…”

“…Once administered to the patient, between 40 and 90% of the pill is eliminated through the urine, as the human body is not capable of metabolizing more than a small part of it, thus the rest goes to the sewage and will reach the WWTPs. The incomplete removal of PPCPs, such as ibuprofen, in different water and wastewater treatment processes results in the occurrence of PPCP compounds in various environmental compartments [7,11].…”