Recent Developments in Physical, Biological, Chemical, and Hybrid Treatment Techniques for Removing Emerging Contaminants from Wastewater
Abstract
Emerging contaminants (ECs) in wastewater have recently attracted the attention of researchers as they pose significant risks to human health and wildlife. This paper presents the state-of-art technologies used to remove ECs from wastewater through a comprehensive review. It also highlights the challenges faced by existing EC removal technologies in wastewater treatment plants and provides future research directions. Many treatment technologies like biological, chemical, and physical approaches have been advanced for removing various ECs. However, currently, no individual technology can effectively remove ECs, whereas hybrid systems have often been found to be more efficient. A hybrid technique of ozonation accompanied by activated carbon was found significantly effective in removing some ECs, particularly pharmaceuticals and pesticides. Despite the lack of extensive research, nanotechnology may be a promising approach as nanomaterial incorporated technologies have shown potential in removing different contaminants from wastewater. Nevertheless, most existing technologies are highly energy and resource-intensive as well as costly to maintain and operate. Besides, most proposed advanced treatment technologies are yet to be evaluated for large-scale practicality. Complemented with techno-economic feasibility studies of the treatment techniques, comprehensive research and development are therefore necessary to achieve a full and effective removal of ECs by wastewater treatment p…
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- Authors
- Ahmed, S. F., Mofijur, M., Nuzhat, S., Chowdhury, A. T., Rafa, N., Uddin, M. A., Inayat, A., Mahlia, T. M. I., Ong, H. C., Chia, W. Y., & Show, P. L.
- Affiliations
- Asian University for Women (BD)
- University of Technology Sydney (AU)
- Jouf University (SA)
- University of Sharjah (AE)
- University of Nottingham (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Show, Pau Loke
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Hazardous Materials
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-08
- Volume
- 416
- Pages
- 125912
- ISSN
- 0304-3894 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3158173456
- Cited by
- 965
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 155 · 2025: 287 · 2024: 240 · 2023: 159 · 2022: 90 · 2021: 33
- FWCI
- 7.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Hazardous Materials (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UTS ePRESS (University of Technology Sydney) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Technology Sydney (FRGS/1/2019/STG05/UNIM/02/2, MyPAIR/1/2020/STG05/UNIM/1)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Advanced oxidation water treatment
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Environmental remediation with nanomaterials
- Keywords
- emerging contaminants, wastewater treatment, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, ozonation, activated carbon, nanomaterials, hybrid treatment systems, biological treatment, chemical treatment, physical treatment, techno-economic feasibility
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Pesticides, Waste Disposal, Fluid, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Water Purification, Wastewater
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