Current progress, opportunities and challenges of developing green disinfectants for the remediation of disinfectant emerging contaminants

Abstract

The wide use of common disinfecting agents against COVID-19 such as chlorine-containing disinfectant and quaternary ammonium compounds raised considerable environmental concerns regarding disinfectant emerging contaminants. Replacing high-risk disinfecting agents with green disinfectants, also called as environmentally friendly, eco-friendly, or sustainable disinfectants, has emerged as a promising strategy for environmental sustainability especially in the post-pandemic era. This review explored what the green disinfectants might mean in practice. A worldwide analysis of 74 articles published in the recent 5 years indicated that, more than 5 class of disinfecting substances, mainly natural disinfectants derived from plants, microorganisms and animals, non-chlorine oxidizing disinfectants (e.g. hydrogen peroxide, ozone, peracetic acid and other organic peracids), nano-disinfectants, electrolyzed water and electrochemical disinfection agents, and others, have been the subject of recent scientific evaluations for green disinfectants. Despite the fact that the green disinfectants as consumer goods for post-pandemic healthcare might be facing an unprecedented market opportunity, more scientific evidence on environmental safety via comprehensive environmental risk assessments is needed for academic development of green disinfectants.