Recent developments in hazardous pollutants removal from wastewater and water reuse within a circular economy

Recent advances in wastewater treatment processes have resulted in high removal efficiencies for various hazardous pollutants. Nevertheless, some technologies are more suitable for targeting specific contaminants than others. We comprehensively reviewed the recent advances in removing hazardous pollutants from industrial wastewater through membrane technologies, adsorption, Fenton-based processes, advanced oxidation processes (AOP), and hybrid systems such as electrically-enhanced membrane bioreactors (eMBRs), and integrated eMBR-adsorption system. Each technology's key features are compared, and recent modifications to the conventional treatment approaches and limitations of advanced treatment systems are highlighted. The removal of emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals from wastewater is also discussed.

Automated summary

The recent advances in wastewater treatment processes, such as membrane technologies, adsorption, Fenton-based processes, advanced oxidation processes (AOP), and hybrid systems, have been comprehensively reviewed in this article. The key features of each technology are compared, recent modifications to conventional treatment approaches are highlighted, and limitations of advanced treatment systems are discussed.