Comparative analysis of separation methods used for the elimination of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from water – A critical review

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a class of compounds of increasing concern because they are widespread in the ecosystem and possibly have adverse effects on living organisms. However, PPCPs cannot be easily removed from water using typical wastewater treatment plants, owing to the fact that the existing infrastructure does not allow removal of such small molecules. Therefore, it is of a great importance to select the most appropriate and efficient method for the removal of PPCPs from water. This work provides a critical review of various methods presenting the potential to be applied for the removal from water of pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Several processes: adsorption, advanced oxidation processes (photodegradation, photocatalysis, ozonation, Fenton reaction, Wet Air Oxidation, ultraviolet radiation, hydrogen peroxide oxidation), and membrane based techniques (ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, forward osmosis, membrane distillation) are analysed and their performance during removal of PPCP from water is compared. Moreover, summaries presenting the efficiency of various materials applied during each of the processes are provided. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of each presented method are summarised and comprehensively discussed.