Pharmaceutical residues: New emerging contaminants and their mitigation by nano-photocatalysis

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The steady growth in population has led to an enhanced water demand and immense pressure on water resources. Pharmaceutical residues (PRs) are unused or non-assimilated medicines found in water supplies that originate from the human and animal consumption of antibiotics, antipyretics, analgesics etc. These have been detected recently in sewage effluents, surface water, ground water and even in drinking water. Due to their toxicity and potential hazard to the environment, humans and aquatic life, PRs are now categorized as the emerging contaminants (ECs). India figures in the top five manufacturers of medicines in the world and every third pill consumed in the world is produced in India. Present day conventional wastewater treatment methods are ineffective and don't eliminate them completely. The use of nanotechnology via advanced oxidation processes (AOP) is one of the most effective methods for the removal of these PRs. Present study is aimed at reviewing the presence of various PRs in water supplies and also to describe the process of AOP to overcome their threat. This study is also very important in view of World Health Organization report confirming more than 30 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide. This will lead to an alleviated use of antibiotics, antipyretics etc. and their subsequent occurrence in water bodies. Need of the hour is to devise a proper treatment strategy and a decision thereof by the policymakers to overcome the possible threat to the environment and health of humans and aquatic life.