Research status, key technologies and development trends of pharmaceutical waste salt treatment technology: A review

The expanding pharmaceutical industry generates a large amount of waste salt (WS) with a complex composition, which is difficult to treat and poses potential risks to the environment and human health. Removing toxic organic compounds has become a bottleneck issue that needs to be addressed. This article presents a comprehensive review of traditional and emerging treatment technologies based on the sources and characteristics of WS from the pharmaceutical industry. It also discusses the problems and challenges faced by typical WS treatment technologies and evaluates the application of innovative integrated processes. Building on this, a future outlook for pharmaceutical WS treatment technologies is outlined. This review aims to assist scientists in enhancing their understanding of different technologies used for treating WS, thereby accelerating the improvement of process parameters and technologies.