Non-conventional processes applied for the removal of pharmaceutics compounds in waters: a review

Abstract

The increasing occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the ecosystem is considered a global concern. These substances easily reach water and wastewater treatment systems and water bodies through the industrial, hospital, and residential effluent discharges, human and animal urine and feces, fertilizers, and disposal of medicines in common garbage or sinks. These drugs, even at low concentrations, when present in the environment, can cause changes in the endocrine, immune, and reproductive systems of living things there. In this context, this article presented an overview of where drugs such as caffeine, paracetamol, and diclofenac were found worldwide. In addition, this review set out to discuss how these drugs affect the quality of the water and all the beings around it. Therefore, this review aims to provide a deeper and more critical systematic approach to non-conventional processes such as adsorption, advanced oxidative processes, and membranes that can be employed to remove caffeine, paracetamol, and/or diclofenac from water. To this end, theoretical concepts were expounded, and scientific articles published in the literature on these advanced treatments between 2010 and 2022 were analyzed. This review will be valuable for researchers studying advanced processes to remove emerging contaminants.