Nanotechnology applications for the removal of environmental contaminants from pharmaceuticals and personal care products

Abstract

Abstract Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) are important as environmental contaminants, and most of them are indebted in causing detrimental effects to aquatic lives even under minute concentrations and potential risks upon drinking by the higher animals. PPCPs/PhACs belonging to a number of therapeutic classes are not completely assimilated upon the intake by higher animals and are removed as original compounds or as metabolites from the body, ultimately reaching the water reserves. The complete removal of PPCPs/PhACs is challenging during conventional wastewater treatment (WWT) and none of the drinking or WWT plants are specifically designed to remove PPCPs/PhACs. Nanotechnology has provided a greater space in removing the PPCPs/PhACs with higher efficiencies of such technologies compared to the conventional WWT mechanisms. This chapter discusses a number of available methods of nanoenhanced techniques for purifying the contaminated water with PPCPs/PhACs such as nanomaterials for PhACs adsorption, nanoenhanced photocatalysis, and nanofiltration and their future implications.