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Improving Pharmaceuticals Removal at Wastewater Treatment Plants Using Biochar: A Review

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A Correction to this article was published on 02 March 2023

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Abstract

The presence of pharmaceuticals within the environment poses serious threat to the health of humans and animals. Owing to the inability of existing wastewater treatment methods to completely remove pharmaceuticals when wastewater is treated at wastewater treatment plants, their effluent have been recognized as one of the main sources of pharmaceuticals into the environment. The negative effect of some of these pharmaceuticals in the environment has resulted in rising concern on how to improve wastewater treatment methods at wastewater treatment plants. Recently, adsorption process has been considered as an efficient method to complement the existing methods of wastewater treatment. This is because of the high affinity of suitable adsorbents for pharmaceuticals within wastewater. Nonetheless, the high price of prevalent adsorbent like activated carbon has been a major limitation. Biochar that possesses similar properties to activated carbon has recently been reported by different literature to be efficient in the removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater and aqueous solution. Because of this, several literature were studied on pharmaceuticals adsorption with the use of biochar and a summary of our findings are presented in this review. In addition, a recent report in Estonia has shown considerable pharmaceuticals concentration above the limit of detection in the effluent streams of wastewater treatment plants. Based on the rate of human consumption data, The authors focused on three pharmaceuticals (1) Metformin, (2) Ibuprofen, and (3) Diclofenac which are part of the readily detected in wastewater treatment effluents in Estonia. In response to their inefficient removal, this paper offers the possibility of using adsorption, specifically with the use of biochar as an economical adsorbent for improving their removal. The findings in this review range from wastewater treatment methods, biochar production and characterization methods to the mechanisms involved in using biochar for the removal of pharmaceuticals. Lastly, the major challenges related with this possibility are highlighted, while recommendations for future research are also highlighted to hasten the implementation of adsorption process using biochar material as the adsorbent for improving pharmaceuticals removal from wastewater.

Graphical Abstract

Highlights

  • The presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment poses serious threat to the lives of human and animals

  • The effluents of wastewater treatment plants have been identified as a major source of pharmaceuticals within the environment

  • Concentrations of Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, and Metformin remain high in the effluents of wastewater treatment plants in Estonia

  • Adsorption has the capacity to assist in improving pharmaceuticals removal during wastewater treatment at wastewater treatment plants

  • Biochar possesses the desired features to replace high-cost adsorbents during an adsorption process

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  1. Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, United States

    Ayooluwa Tomiwa Akintola

  2. Department of Environmental Engineering, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate Tee 5, 19086, Tallinn, Estonia

    Ayankoya Yemi Ayankunle

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Akintola, A.T., Ayankunle, A.Y. Improving Pharmaceuticals Removal at Wastewater Treatment Plants Using Biochar: A Review. Waste Biomass Valor 14, 2433–2458 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-023-02070-2

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