Pharmaceutical Wastewater as an Emerging Environmental Contaminant: Sustainable Treatment Strategies and Future Perspectives

The level of pharmaceutical contaminants is increasing exponentially on planet Earth. Despite the vital role of medicines in life, pharmaceutical effluents have severe environmental impacts and cause health issues. In order to treat pharmaceutical effluents, a variety of methods are adopted globally. The conventional techniques lack the capability of effective removal of these hazardous effluents. This review focuses on the methods currently used to treat pharmaceutical wastewater. Both individual and hybrid treatment approaches have been investigated. Optimum and sustainable treatment methods have been presented. Their advantages and limitations have been discussed in detail. Modern treatment techniques are designed to be more sustainable and cost-effective, with a target to achieve high to near-complete removal of contaminants. No single technique is sufficient individually for the purpose. A suitable combination of biological treatment processes with a membrane system and advanced oxidation processes has been observed to be a highly effective method. However, such hybrid methods are designed according to the quality and quantity of wastewater, target pollutants, and several other crucial parameters.