The Treatment of Wastewater Containing Pharmaceuticals

Abstract

The massive production of pharmaceuticals and excessive consumption will lead to their leakage into various water sources. Conventional treatment methods have proven ineffective in the treatment of these contaminants. Thus, choosing the appropriate treatment method is extremely important to deal with these pollutants. This review presents an overview of pharmaceuticals in wastewater and studies the difference between the conventional and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for pharmaceutical treatment. AOPs can be an ideal solution for the degradation of these contaminants. The factors that affect the removal efficiency for AOPs were discussed, such as type of catalyst, light intensity, initial concentration of contamination, catalyst dose, and pH of the solution. The degradation pathway for some pharmaceuticals has also been discussed.