Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

基于碳中和的微污染复杂水体治理与修复

This Chinese study proposes carbon-neutral strategies for treating micro-pollutant-laden complex water bodies, reviewing emerging micropollutants including pharmaceuticals and microplastics and discussing integrated treatment technologies that minimize energy use and carbon emissions.

2024 Chinese Science Bulletin (Chinese Version)
Article Tier 2

Controlling organic micropollutants in urban (waste) water treatment by activated carbon adsorption and membrane technology

This paper reviews multibarrier approaches to controlling organic micropollutants — including pharmaceutical residues and emerging contaminants — in urban wastewater treatment, aligned with evolving EU and Portuguese regulatory standards. Advanced water treatment strategies that target persistent organic pollutants are also applicable to removing microplastic-associated chemicals that pass through conventional treatment.

2023 IWA Publishing eBooks
Article Tier 2

Micropollutants in Wastewater: Legislative Push and Technological Response

This review addressed the challenge that conventional wastewater treatment plants fail to remove micropollutants—including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and endocrine disruptors—adequately, and examined how legislation is driving investment in advanced treatment technologies. The authors found that ozonation, activated carbon filtration, and advanced oxidation processes show the best performance but require major capital investment.

2025 Facta Universitatis Series Working and Living Environmental Protection
Article Tier 2

Sustainable treatment systems for removal of pharmaceutical residues and other priority persistent substances

This review evaluates sustainable wastewater treatment technologies for removing pharmaceutical residues and other micropollutants before treated water is discharged to the environment. Advanced treatment methods are also applicable to improving microplastic removal from wastewater.

2019 Water Science & Technology 21 citations
Article Tier 2

The Occurrence of Micropollutants in the Aquatic Environment and Technologies for Their Removal

This review summarizes the growing problem of micropollutants in water, including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals, and evaluates advanced treatment methods to remove them. The research is important for human health because conventional water treatment plants cannot effectively filter out these contaminants, meaning people may be regularly exposed through tap water.

2025 Processes 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Remediation of Emerging Pollutants by Using Advanced Biological Wastewater Treatments

This review examines advanced biological methods for removing emerging pollutants from wastewater, including pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors, and microplastics. Biological treatment approaches offer sustainable and effective alternatives to conventional treatment for this increasingly complex mix of contaminants.

2021 Applied Water Science 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceutically active micropollutants: origin, hazards and removal

This review summarizes existing research on pharmaceutical pollutants -- such as antibiotics, painkillers, and hormones -- found in water systems around the world. While focused on drug contamination, the paper notes that microplastics can act as carriers for these pharmaceutical chemicals, potentially concentrating them and increasing human exposure through drinking water. Conventional water treatment methods are often unable to fully remove these micropollutants.

2024 Frontiers in Microbiology 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Model Study: Collection and Disposal of Waste Medications with Micropollutant Properties in the Ecosystem within the Scope of Zero Waste

This study proposes sustainable approaches for managing waste pharmaceuticals, which are classified as micropollutants that escape conventional wastewater treatment and contaminate drinking water and soil. While focused on drug residues rather than microplastics, the paper addresses the broader challenge of micropollutant removal from water systems.

2019 Erzincan Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü Dergisi 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in water and wastewater: a review of treatment processes and use of photocatalyst immobilized on functionalized carbon in AOP degradation

This review examines the presence of pharmaceutical and personal care product contaminants in water and wastewater, and evaluates treatment approaches including photocatalytic degradation using immobilized catalysts on functionalized carbon materials. Researchers found that conventional wastewater treatment often fails to fully remove these emerging contaminants, which can persist in the environment and cause endocrine disruption. The study highlights advanced oxidation processes as a promising approach for breaking down these resistant compounds.

2020 BMC Chemistry 230 citations
Article Tier 2

A Brief Review of Treatment Methods for Certain Emerging Contaminants in Domestic and Industrial Effluents

This review summarizes emerging contaminant treatment methods for domestic and industrial effluents, covering advanced oxidation, membrane filtration, adsorption, and biological approaches for removing pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and other persistent pollutants.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Carbon-based composites for removal of pharmaceutical components from water

This review examines how carbon-based materials — including activated carbon, carbon nanotubes, and graphene — effectively remove pharmaceutical pollutants from water, highlighting their promise for addressing drug contamination in aquatic environments.

2022 Journal of Composites and Compounds 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging pollutants in waste water: Challenges and advancements in treatment technology

This review examines the challenges of removing emerging pollutants like microplastics, PFAS, and pharmaceutical residues from wastewater using conventional treatment methods. Researchers found that traditional approaches such as activated sludge and coagulation are often insufficient, while advanced oxidation processes, adsorption-based methods, and novel biological treatments show more promise. The study emphasizes the need for sustainable, energy-efficient solutions and stronger regulatory frameworks to protect water resources.

2024 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Modern Wastewater Treatment Technologies: Trends, Problems, and Prospects

This review examines modern wastewater treatment technologies including mechanical, biological, and physicochemical methods, highlighting that conventional systems inadequately remove emerging micropollutants such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, microplastics, and nanoparticles. The authors identify key barriers to progress including high costs, aging infrastructure, and weak governance, and advocate for integrated approaches combining membrane technologies, nanomaterials, and circular economy principles.

2025 SERIES CHEMISTRY AND TECHNOLOGY
Article Tier 2

Research and Application of Water Treatment Technologies for Emerging Contaminants (ECs): A Pathway to Solving Water Environment Challenges

This review summarizes methods for removing emerging contaminants from water, including microplastics, drug residues, and hormone-disrupting chemicals. It covers physical, chemical, and biological treatment approaches, noting their strengths and limitations -- important because even at low concentrations, these pollutants build up over time and pose long-term threats to human health.

2024 Water 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Aerobic Biological Treatment of Microconstituents

This chapter reviews aerobic biological treatment systems and their effectiveness at removing trace organic micropollutants (including pharmaceuticals and personal care products) from wastewater. Biological treatment processes are also relevant to removing microplastics and their associated chemical contaminants from municipal wastewater.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Ultrafiltration/Granulated Active Carbon-Biofilter: Efficient Removal of a Broad Range of Micropollutants

A treatment system combining membrane bioreactor ultrafiltration with granulated activated carbon (GAC) biofilter was evaluated for removal of pharmaceutical residues and other micropollutants from wastewater, achieving complete removal of all investigated substances including microplastics. The study identifies this two-stage advanced treatment approach as effective for a broad spectrum of micropollutants currently passing through conventional WWTPs.

2019 Applied Sciences 83 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced adsorbents for ibuprofen removal from aquatic environments: a review

This review examines advanced methods for removing ibuprofen, a common painkiller, from water systems using materials like activated carbon, biochar, and metal-organic frameworks. Ibuprofen is widespread in waterways and poses risks to aquatic life and potentially human health. Carbon-based materials showed the highest removal capacity, offering promising solutions for cleaning pharmaceutical pollution from drinking water sources.

2023 Environmental Chemistry Letters 94 citations
Article Tier 2

Which\nMicropollutants in Water Environments Deserve\nMore Attention Globally?

This review analyzed which organic micropollutants in water environments deserve the most global attention based on their toxicity, occurrence frequency, and persistence. Microplastics are among the contaminants considered, alongside pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals that routinely escape conventional water treatment and accumulate in aquatic ecosystems.

2021 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Which\nMicropollutants in Water Environments Deserve\nMore Attention Globally?

This review analyzed which organic micropollutants in water environments deserve the most global attention based on their toxicity, occurrence frequency, and persistence. Microplastics are among the contaminants considered, alongside pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals that routinely escape conventional water treatment and accumulate in aquatic ecosystems.

2021 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Treatment approaches for emerging contaminants in sludge and wastewater

Researchers reviewed biological and physicochemical treatment approaches for removing emerging contaminants from wastewater and sludge. The study highlights that conventional treatment methods do not completely remove substances like pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and examines recent advances in processes designed to address these persistent pollutants.

2024 IWA Publishing eBooks 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging Environmental Contaminats of High Concern: Trends, Potential Sources, Friendly Treatment Technologies and Future Prospects

This review examines sources, environmental behavior, and health effects of emerging environmental contaminants -- including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals -- along with promising treatment technologies for their removal from water and soil.

2024 Preprints.org
Article Tier 2

Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for the Removal of Emerging Contaminants from Water: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

This review examines nanotechnology-based approaches for removing emerging contaminants including pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors, and microplastics from water, comparing the removal efficiencies of nanomaterial adsorbents, photocatalysts, and membrane systems against conventional treatment methods.

2025 Asian Journal of Environment & Ecology
Article Tier 2

Research progress and application exploration of techniques to remove emerging contaminants from water environment

This review summarizes technologies for removing emerging contaminants — including pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and pesticides — from water, covering adsorption, membrane filtration, advanced oxidation, and biological methods. The authors assess the effectiveness and limitations of each approach for real-world water treatment.

2023 E3S Web of Conferences 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Water Purification and Wastewater Treatment Challenges

This overview covers the major challenges in water purification and wastewater treatment, including inadequate removal of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and microplastics by conventional systems. It discusses advanced treatment technologies and energy efficiency as priority areas for improving global water security.

2025