Synergizing Advanced Oxidation and Nature-Based Solutions: A Review on Multicomponent Strategy for Sustainable Pharmaceutical Wastewater Remediation

Removal of emerging micropollutants originating from pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in water and wastewater by advanced oxidation processes: A review

Technologies for removing pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from aqueous solutions: Recent advances, performances, challenges and recommendations for improvements

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are found in wastewater, and thus, the environment. In this study, current knowledge about the occurrence and fate of PPCPs in aquatic systems—including wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and natural waters around the world—is critically reviewed to inform the state of the science and highlight existing knowledge gaps. Excretion by humans is the primary route of PPCPs entry into municipal wastewater systems, but significant contributions also occur through emissions from hospitals, PPCPs manufacturers, and agriculture. Abundance of PPCPs in raw wastewater is influenced by several factors, including the population density and demography served by WWTPs, presence of hospitals and drugs manufacturers in the sewershed, disease burden of the population served, local regulations, and climatic conditions. Based on the data obtained from WWTPs, analgesics, antibiotics, and stimulants (e.g., caffeine) are the most abundant PPCPs in raw wastewater. In conventional WWTPs, most removal of PPCPs occurs during secondary treatment, and overall removal exceeds 90% for treatable PPCPs. Regardless, the total PPCP mass discharged with effluent by an average WWTP into receiving waters (7.35–20,160 g/day) is still considerable, because potential adverse effects of some PPCPs (such as ibuprofen) on aquatic organisms occur within measured concentrations found in surface waters.

Global prevalence and visible light mediated photodegradation of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)-a review

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) include over-the-counter and prescription drugs, veterinary drugs, fragrances, and cosmetics. PPCPs have been detected in aquatic environments at low concentrations and are emerging as contaminants of concern. PPCPs are primarily released into aquatic environments via untreated sewage, wastewater treatment plants, landfill leachate and can affect aquatic life through persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. However, there are limited reviews of lethal and sublethal effects of PPCP exposures on aquatic organisms. To understand PPCP toxicity on aquatic organisms, a literature review was conducted that identified aquatic organisms known to be affected by PPCPs; concentrations of PPCPs reported as producing sublethal and lethal effects in aquatic organisms; and research gaps on PPCP aquatic toxicity. Twelve PPCPs were selected from three seminal studies for review, including bisphenol A, carbamazepine, erythromycin, fluoxetine, linear alkylbenzene sulfonate, metoprolol, naproxen, nonylphenol, ofloxacin, sertraline, sulfamethoxazole, and triclosan. Many aquatic species were affected by PPCPs at sublethal and lethal exposures, including sublethal effects at environmentally relevant concentrations. Because lethal effects were seldom observed at environmentally relevant concentrations, many studies considered PPCPs non-toxic. Few studies have compared effects of PPCPs on the same organisms for identical exposure parameters (time and concentration), resulting in wide variation in reported toxicity levels with limited consensus in the academic literature. Consensus in lethal concentrations was reported for Daphnia magna with 48 h exposure for bisphenol A and triclosan and Vibrio fischeri with 15 min exposure to carbamazepine. Environmentally relevant sublethal concentrations were higher than water quality guidelines developed for Canada and predicted no-effect concentrations derived globally. Species sensitivity distributions for some PPCPs show that aquatic species are affected lethally at environmentally relevant concentrations. More studies on indirect and long-term ecological effects along with testing chronic toxicity of PPCPs at environmentally relevant concentrations are recommended. These will help guide future research to determine extent and magnitude of PPCP concentrations in aquatic environments and help inform management decisions to reduce sources of PPCPs into the environment. Future management requires effective monitoring strategies regarding use, disposal, occurrence, and impacts at different life cycle stages of PPCPs in the environment.

Microbial approaches for pharmaceutical wastewater recycling and management for sustainable development: A multicomponent approach

Biomass energy recovery from sewage sludge through anaerobic treatment is vital for environmental sustainability and a circular economy. However, large amounts of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) remain in sludge, and their interactions with microbes and enzymes would affect resource recovery. This article reviews the effects and mechanisms of PPCPs on anaerobic sludge treatment. Most PPCPs posed adverse impacts on methane production, while certain low-toxicity PPCPs could stimulate volatile fatty acids and biohydrogen accumulation. Changes in the microbial community structure and functional enzyme bioactivities were also summarized with PPCPs exposure. Notably, PPCPs such as carbamazepine could bind with the active sites of the enzyme and induce microbial stress responses. The fate of various PPCPs during anaerobic sludge treatment indicated that PPCPs featuring electron-donating groups (e.g., ·-NH2 and ·-OH), hydrophilicity, and low molecular weight were more susceptible to microbial utilization. Key biodegrading enzymes (e.g., cytochrome P450 and amidase) were crucial for PPCP degradation, although several PPCPs remain refractory to biotransformation. Therefore, remediation technologies including physical pretreatment, chemicals, bioaugmentation, and their combinations for enhancing PPCPs degradation were outlined. Among these strategies, advanced oxidation processes and combined strategies effectively removed complex and refractory PPCPs mainly by generating free radicals, providing recommendations for improving sludge detoxification.

The threat of PPCPs from WWTP and solutions of advanced reduction coupled treatment processes with pilot-scale.

Occurrences and removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in drinking water and water/sewage treatment plants: A review

Aquatic ecosystems are continuously contaminated by manufactured pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs). Non-regulated, multi-purpose PPCP contaminants enter aquatic systems through sewage/ wastewater treatment plants after consumption and use by humans and animals. These micro-pollutants receive increased attention worldwidesince significant levels of contamination have been found in various environmental compartments and organisms. Highly sophisticated equipment such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) are reliable ways to determine PPCPs at sub-ppb levels from air, waters, sediments, effluents, aquatic organisms and human body fluids. Although the consequences of these pollutants are gradually becoming visible, their potential impacts on aquatic ecosystems and organisms are poorly known. Some studies have suggested that PPCPs are persistent and have bioaccumulation potential leading to ecological effects and abnormalities in fish. Other findings illustrate that PPCPs can impair swimming behavior in fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), interfere with thyroid axis in the zebra fish (Danio rerio), or form adducts with hemoglobin and/or suitable protein breakdown PPCPs products. Thus, this review focuses on PPCPs emerging contaminants concern with regards to sources, occurrences, analytical methods, fate and biological transformation.

For over 70 years, scientists have reported that certain synthetic and natural compounds could mimic natural hormones in the endocrine systems of animals. These substances are now collectively known as endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), and have been linked to a variety of adverse effects in both humans and wildlife. More recently, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been discovered in various surface and ground waters, some of which have been linked to ecological impacts at trace concentrations. The majority of EDCs and PPCPs are more polar than traditional contaminants and several have acidic or basic functional groups. These properties, coupled with occurrence at trace levels (i.e., <1 μg/L), create unique challenges for both removal processes and analytical detection. Reports of EDCs and PPCPs in water have raised substantial concern among the public and regulatory agencies; however, very little is known about the fate of these compounds during drinking and wastewater treatment. Numerous studies have shown that conventional drinking and wastewater treatment plants can not completely remove many EDCs and PPCPs. Oxidation with chlorine and ozone can result in transformation of some compounds with reactive functional groups under the conditions employed in water and wastewater treatment plants. Advanced treatment technologies, such as activated carbon and reverse osmosis, appear viable for the removal of many trace contaminants including EDCs and PPCPs. Future research needs include more detailed fate and transport data, standardized analytical methodology, predictive models, removal kinetics, and determination of the toxicological relevance of trace levels of EDCs and PPCPs in water.

Chapter 10 - UV-based advanced oxidation process for the treatment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products

Chapter 27 - Potentials and performance of biological processes for treatment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in wastewater

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in water streams: Occurrence, detection, and removal by electrochemical advanced oxidation processes

Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) are now detected in waterways around the world, and are most commonly discharged into waterways via wastewater treatment plants. The effects of PPCPs on aquatic plants and animals including fish and insects within these environments are largely unknown. This research examines the ecological impacts of PPCPs on vital processes like photosynthesis, and assesses the potential exposure risks to aquatic animals, including platypus and fish, living in PPCP contaminated streams. While the effects of PPCP contamination can be subtle, PPCPs have the potential to alter the ecology of freshwater systems, often with lasting, cumulative implications.