Multimodal Approaches to Pharmaceutical Wastewater Treatment: Bridging Adsorption Science, Bioremediation, and Catalytic Oxidation

The escalating presence of pharmaceutical contaminants in global water systems, driven by industrial discharge, metabolic excretion by humans and animals, and agricultural runoff, poses significant environmental and public health risks. Conventional wastewater treatment methods often fail to eliminate recalcitrant compounds, necessitating advanced remediation strategies. This review provides recent advancements in adsorption, biological degradation, and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for pharmaceutical removal. Adsorption technologies utilize materials like activated carbon, zeolites, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), with MOFs achieving over 90% removal of antibiotics through tunable porosity and selective binding. Biochar and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) show improved selectivity; however, challenges remain regarding regenerability and cost. Biological methods employ microbial consortia and fungal enzymes to degrade over 90% of pharmaceutical compounds via ligninolytic activity, while plant-microbe synergies in phytoremediation hold promise, but face risks of secondary pollutant production and accumulation. AOPs, particularly heterogeneous photocatalysis and ozonation, enable near-complete degradation of contaminants through reactive oxygen species, although energy demands and toxic byproducts continue to raise concerns. Hybrid systems that integrate adsorption with AOPs or biological processes demonstrate synergistic efficiencies, such as catalytic membrane reactors that combine degradation and separation. The review highlights the necessity of context-specific solutions, emphasizing scalability, environmental safety, and circular economy principles. Future directions prioritize solar-driven technologies, biodegradable adsorbents, and AI-optimized hybrid systems to address persistent gaps in large-scale implementation and regulatory compliance. By bridging material innovation, microbial ecology, and process engineering, this work lays out a roadmap for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 amid growing pharmaceutical pollution concerns.