Removal of emerging pharmaceutical pollutants: A systematic mapping study review

The presence of certain pharmaceutical compounds in ground and surface waters may constitute a serious environmental problem, even at low concentrations. The removal of these compounds is a trending research topic that implies a wide variety of disciplines. To provide clear insight into this field of research, a Systematic Mapping Study review (SMS) has been conducted. We investigated studies reported from 1993 to 2019 in ScienceDirect library. 4164 articles have been analyzed resulting in 172 primary relevant studies and revealing the treatment of 174 molecules. This paper aims to review the existing and recent trends in techniques for the removal of pharmaceuticals present in varied aqueous matrices and also presents a brief overview of the different classes of pharmaceutical compounds investigated. Findings of this study can help the scientists to identify potential techniques aiming to reduce the impact of pharmaceuticals present in wastewater discharge and into surface water bodies. It was revealed that, antibiotics and analgesics/anti-inflammatories are the most commonly investigated, since the highest risk is posed by these classes. The biological processes were found to be the most commonly used techniques in these field of research, and the diclofenac is the most extensively compounds examined. Recent advances in the field of the combination of AOPs with biological water treatment processes for the degradation of pharmaceuticals are discussed. Finally, advantage and limitations of methods used for the elimination of target compounds are addressed.