Advanced Oxidation Process as an Emerging Technology for the Treatment of Pharmaceutical Wastewater

Water is often regarded as the elixir of life. Approximately one-third of the Earth's freshwater is stored in glaciers and ice caps, while only a limited portion of the remaining freshwater is directly available to sustain the global population. However, growing demand, driven by population growth and urbanization, has led to significant pollution of freshwater resources. The primary route through which pharmaceutical pollutants enter the environment is via municipal wastewater treatment plants. Pharmaceutical industries include fermentation and chemical synthesis processes, which discharge pharmaceutical solvents, catalysts, reactants, intermediates, toxic substances, and harmful liquids called effluents into the water stream. Several contaminants in water bodies cause planet-wide environmental impacts and create significant threats to flora and fauna. The conventional wastewater treatment processes often lead to the formation of secondary pollutants, including chemical residues and toxic by-products, in addition to high maintenance costs and issues related to sludge management. Developing a practical, affordable, efficient, and environmentally benign method for treating the pharmaceutical effluents in wastewater is crucial to reducing the release of contaminants into the environment. Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) have attracted considerable attention in recent years for the treatment of industrial and municipal wastewater, owing to their ability to degrade persistent organic pollutants and offer disinfection, decolorization, no formation of secondary pollutants, and deodorization. This chapter discusses the principles and types of Advanced Oxidation Processes, compares the efficiency of different methods, and explores their applications and limitations in achieving a sustainable and cleaner environment.