Nano-sorbent materials for pharmaceutical-based wastewater effluents - An overview

Abstract

Wastewater treatment has been one of the biggest challenges to overcome worldwide, being pharmaceutical effluents some of the main residues associated with water pollution. The implementation of nanotechnology to remove pharmaceutical pollutants from respective wastewater effluents, such as antibiotics, pesticides, hormones, antiviral drugs, toxic dyes, among others, has been increasing during the last decades. The sorbent materials produced at nanoscale offer unique properties, such as high absorption, large surface area, eco-friendly fabrication, and huge affinity to organic and inorganic compounds. This article aims to provide an overview for researchers about some of the current nanotechnology applications for the treatment of pharmaceutical-based wastewater effluents. Sustainable exploitation of novel nano-sorbent materials could be useful for environmental purposes focused on the removal of pollutants in water.

Keywords

• Wastewater
• Emerging contaminants
• Nanomaterials
• Environmental impact