Surface water pollution by pharmaceuticals and an alternative of removal by low-cost adsorbents

Micropollutants, also called emerging contaminants, consist of an extensive group of synthetic and natural substances, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, steroid hormones, and agro-chemicals. Currently, the monitoring of residual pharmaceuticals in the environment has been highlighted due to the fact that many of these substances are found in wastewater treatment plants effluents and surface waters, in concentrations ranging from ng L-1 to mu g L-1. Most of these compounds are discharged into the environment continuously through domestic sewage treatment systems. In the present work, it is presented an overview of water pollution by these pollutants, as well as a review of the recent literature about the use of low-cost adsorbents for the removal of the main pharmaceuticals found in surface water, focusing on municipal and agroindustrial wastes as precursors. It was possible to observe several examples of high adsorption capacities of these compounds with such materials, however other aspects must be considered in order to evaluate the real applicability in water and wastewater treatment, such as competition, recyclability and production cost. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.