A review on analytical methods and treatment techniques of pharmaceutical wastewater

This review is providing an overview for the analysis and removal of pollutants from pharmaceutical wastewater. Pharmaceuticals are bioactive compounds and they can cause potential effects on living systems. Different classes of pharmaceuticals are enter into the environment after being used or excreted through wastewater and sewage treatment systems. The complexity of these hazards should not be underestimated. In this modern world, 3000 different substances are used in medicines such as painkillers, antibiotics, contraceptives and much more. These pollutants are becoming omnipresent in the environment because they cannot be removed effectively by the typical wastewater treatment plants due to their toxic and poisonous nature. A variety of technologies, including physical, chemical, biological and thermal process have been largely explored for the removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater. The analytical methods for pharmaceuticals like chromatographic and spectroscopic methods were also briefly described. Rather than the conventionally suggested methods such as biodegradation, ozonation, photocatalysis for the removal of pharmaceuticals from waste water, the applicability of adsorption process for this purpose is simple and a low-cost technique. In this paper, the process of removing pharmaceuticals from wastewater using adsorbents like activated carbon, carbon nanotubes, zeolites and biosorbents (industrial waste or sewage waste, agricultural waste) were briefly analyzed and explained. Lastly, proposals were made for the future research in the field of pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.