Polymer/Titania Composites for the Remediation of Water from Pharmaceuticals: A Review

TL;DR

This review explores how polymer/titania composites can help clean water contaminated with pharmaceuticals, which are harmful to humans and the environment.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive review of polymer/TiO2 composites for pharmaceutical removal, including natural, synthetic, and hybrid types.

Findings

Polymer/TiO2 composites show promise in removing pharmaceuticals from water.

The review highlights challenges like toxicity of degradation products and reusability of composites.

Abstract

Clean water is a
limited resource that is essential to
human existence.
Pharmaceuticals have been developed to improve the health and safety
of living beings. Still, their widespread application and consumption,
along with their increased industrial production and subsequent improper
disposal, have resulted in unprecedented levels of pharmaceutical
pollutants in water systems, adversely impacting the health of humans
and aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Conventional wastewater treatment
methods are ineffective in removing these persistent contaminants,
leading to their distribution and accumulation in rivers, lakes, groundwater,
and even drinking water sources. Therefore, the development of efficient,
cost-effective, and sustainable materials for removing pharmaceuticals
from wastewater is an immediate and growing necessity to maintain
adequate water quality. Given the unique properties of polymers and
the outstanding photocatalytic activity of titania (TiO2) nanomaterials, water treatment using polymer-based/TiO2 composites appears to be a promising approach. Although several
reviews on the use of polymer/TiO2 composites for water
treatment have been published, no comprehensive review has examined
the performance of polymer/TiO2 composites, including natural,
synthetic, and hybrid natural/synthetic polymer-based composites,
in removing pharmaceuticals and addressed the key challenges associated
with their practical applications. Herein, we provide an overview
of polymer/TiO2 composites that are increasingly being
explored for water purification and describe their performance in
removing pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, analgesics/anti-inflammatories,
and other medical drugs commonly found in wastewater effluents. Key
considerations, such as the toxicity of pharmaceutical degradation
products, the reusability of polymer/TiO2 composites, and
the impact of real-world water systems on overall treatment performance,
are also discussed.

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