title: Emerging pollutant treatments in wastewater: Cases of antibiotics and hormones.
abstract: Because of the intensive use of pharmaceutical substances in human life, studies on the detection of these chemical compounds and their metabolites as pollutants in water bodies are continuously reported. Some pharmaceutical agents are associated with adverse effects to aquatic life, even at very low concentrations (ng L-1to μg L-1). For instance, the presence of antibiotics and hormones has been associated with increasing proliferation of antibiotic resistant pathogens and feminization and masculinization of some aquatic organisms. Currently, new attempts are being made to minimize or fully remove these types of pollutants from aquatic systems to protect the environment and human health. In this regard, physicochemical and biological treatments are among the most promising technologies for the treatment of wastewater containing pharmaceutical pollutants. These treatments are green alternatives for the degradation of hazardous organic compounds into nontoxic by-products. Here, we review some of the physicochemical and biological treatment methods used for the removal of the most extensively used antibiotics and hormones. Enzymatic oxidation, photocatalysis and electrochemical oxidation are described in terms of the aforementioned pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs). The use of membrane technologies to separate different groups of antibiotics and hormones prior to biologic or physicochemical treatment methods is also addressed.
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla , Puebla , Mexico.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Méndez
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla , Puebla , Mexico.
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: González-Fuentes
authors.affiliation: b Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla , Mexico.
authors.forename: Georgette
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rebollar-Perez
authors.affiliation: c Institute of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla , Puebla , Mexico.
authors.forename: Alia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Méndez-Albores
authors.affiliation: c Institute of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla , Puebla , Mexico.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000737:chemistry*; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Antibiotics; electrochemical processes; enzymatic processes; hormones; membranes; pharmaceutical substances; photocatalysis