Recent Advances in Physicochemical and Biological Techniques for the Management of Discharges Loaded with Surfactants

The spectacular evolution of the urban and industrial sector today poses real environmental challenges of water pollution that requires immediate attention. Surfactants are emerging contaminants that pose a significant problem in wastewater treatment, and their presence causes difficulty in traditional treatment processes. In this context, the present work critically reviews the impacts of surfactants and their toxicity on the environment and human health while presenting the various techniques used in wastewater treatment plants to reduce their effects. Surfactants are removed from wastewater using different techniques, including physical, chemical, biological, and membrane treatment. The choice of the most appropriate technique for wastewater treatment is based on many criteria, such as effluent quality, standards to be respected, investment and operating costs, and environmental footprint. Adsorption and coagulation-flocculation are the most suitable techniques for removing detergents from wastewater due to their effectiveness, ease of use, environmental friendliness, and cost-effectiveness. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Recent advances in the biological treatment of wastewater rich in emerging pollutants produced by pharmaceutical industrial discharges

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products present potential risks to human health and the environment. In particular, wastewater treatment plants often detect emerging pollutants that disrupt biological treatment. The activated sludge process is a traditional biological method with a lower capital cost and limited operating requirements than more advanced treatment methods. In addition, the membrane bioreactor combines a membrane module and a bioreactor, widely used as an advanced method for treating pharmaceutical wastewater with good pollution performance. Indeed, the fouling of the membrane remains a major problem in this process. In addition, anaerobic membrane bioreactors can treat complex pharmaceutical waste while recovering energy and producing nutrient-rich wastewater for irrigation. Wastewater characterizations have shown that wastewater’s high organic matter content facilitates the selection of low-cost, low-nutrient, low-surface-area, and effective anaerobic methods for drug degradation and reduces pollution. However, to improve the biological treatment, researchers have turned to hybrid processes in which all physical, chemical, and biological treatment methods are integrated to remove various emerging contaminants effectively. Hybrid systems can generate bioenergy, which helps reduce the operating costs of the pharmaceutical waste treatment system. To find the most effective treatment technique for our research, this work lists the different biological treatment techniques cited in the literature, such as activated sludge, membrane bioreactor, anaerobic treatment, and hybrid treatment, combining physicochemical and biological techniques