A review of pharmaceutical removal from wastewater via hydrodynamic cavitation

Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) is a powerful advanced oxidation process for water and wastewater remediation, but the degradation mechanism of pharmaceuticals in water matrices remains unclear. This comprehensive review aims to inspire and guide future research in this field by reviewing the removal of pharmaceuticals in water and wastewater using various HC hybrid processes, including standalone HC, and HC combined with H 2 O 2 , Persulfate, Peroxymonosulfate, Percarbonate, Fenton, catalysts, Ozonation, as well as HC/Photocatalysis. Given that HC/Plasma processes for water and wastewater remediation were comprehensively reviewed in our previous work, they are not discussed here. This review systematically examines the mechanisms, applications, and key influencing factors of these HC-based processes. In addition, the environmental impacts and sustainability aspects of HC technologies are highlighted. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives are presented to outline emerging issues and advanced research directions in this field.