Sorptive removal of pharmaceutical and personal care products from water and wastewater

Environmental contamination by pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) is a worldwide concern. Although reported concentrations are generally low, a large numbers of PPCPs with diverse chemical natures have been detected in soil, water, and aquatic environments, and most of them can persist in the environment for long time posing detrimental effects on human health, biota, or other significant environment aspects. Several techniques such as bioremediation, ozonation, electrochemical separation technologies, and physicochemical treatments including coagulation, volatilization, sorption, sedimentation have been used to remediate PPCPs contaminated sites. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of sorptive removal techniques of PPCPs and the mechanism of interaction. Until now, various sorbents including activated carbon, biochar, agricultural solid waste, industrial by-products, natural clay minerals, and biosorbents have been examined to remove PPCPs in water and wastewater. The diverse chemical nature and specific properties of PPCPs make the sorption process more complex in the natural environment. Hence, research interest needs to be focused on novel sorbents which are suitable for natural environment conditions. Moreover, specific properties of water/wastewater such as pH, ionic strength, other contaminants, and temperature should be considered for the selection of proper sorbent.