A Critical Review of Imidacloprid Remediation Technologies for Sustainable Environmental Management

Imidacloprid (IMI), one of the most extensively used neonicotinoid insecticides, has become a widespread environmental contaminant owing to its high water solubility, persistence, and intensive agricultural applications. Its frequent detection in soil and aquatic environments has raised growing concerns because of its adverse effects on pollinators, aquatic organisms, wildlife, and potential risks to human health. Although numerous remediation technologies have been developed, existing reviews largely focus on individual treatment approaches and provide limited comparative evaluation of their remediation efficiency, mineralization potential, transformation-product toxicity, scalability, and long-term sustainability. This review addresses this gap by critically assessing the physicochemical properties, environmental fate, toxicological impacts, and remediation technologies of IMI. Comparative analysis indicates that electrochemical and advanced oxidation processes generally achieve rapid degradation and superior mineralization; however, their practical implementation is often constrained by energy consumption, catalyst or electrode costs, and uncertainties regarding the toxicity of degradation intermediates. In contrast, adsorption and membrane-based technologies offer rapid and scalable pollutant removal but primarily transfer IMI into secondary waste streams without complete detoxification. Biological and hybrid treatment systems provide environmentally compatible alternatives with lower energy requirements, although slower degradation kinetics, environmental variability, and limited field-scale validation remain significant challenges. Collectively, the evidence suggests that integrated technology can simultaneously maximize removal efficiency, mineralization, cost-effectiveness, and environmental safety for sustainable detoxification and long-term management of IMI-contaminated environments.