Advanced treatment technologies for typical polluted wastewater: Research progress and application comparison

To address the challenges in treating wastewater containing heavy metals, radionuclides, refractory organics, high-salinity components, and composite pollutants, this paper adopts a "pollutant type - technology - performance" core framework, systematically reviews the recent advances in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), synergistic treatment systems, as well as electrochemical and bioelectrochemical technologies. Existing reviews on wastewater treatment often focus on a single type of technology or pollutant. Consequently, they lack a comprehensive overview of typical composite polluted wastewater and a systematic correlation of the "pollutant-technology-performance" chain, which limits their practical guidance for engineering selection. For example, the adsorption capacity of UO 2 2+ in capacitive deionization can reach 676.4 mg·g⁻¹, while the UV/O 3 /persulfate (PS) process achieves removal efficiencies of approximately 90% for total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in marine environments. The applicability, performance, and limitations of these technologies are systematically discussed. This review is the first to systematically summarize the latest advanced treatment technologies for wastewater contaminated by organic compounds, heavy metals, radionuclides, high-salinity constituents, and composite pollutants. It establishes a standardized technology selection framework, compares the advantages and limitations of synergistic treatment systems, and highlights future directions in resource recovery and intelligent process control. This work provides a comprehensive and practical reference for engineering applications and future research, laying a foundation for the green and intelligent evolution of the wastewater treatment industry.