Pharmaceuticals in the Aquatic Environment: A Review on Eco-Toxicology and the Remediation Potential of Algae

Monika Hejna, Dominika Kapuścińska and Anna Aksmann
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Monika Hejna: Department of Plant Physiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland
Dominika Kapuścińska: Department of Plant Physiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland
Anna Aksmann: Department of Plant Physiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-40

Abstract: The pollution of the aquatic environment has become a worldwide problem. The widespread use of pesticides, heavy metals and pharmaceuticals through anthropogenic activities has increased the emission of such contaminants into wastewater. Pharmaceuticals constitute a significant class of aquatic contaminants and can seriously threaten the health of non-target organisms. No strict legal regulations on the consumption and release of pharmaceuticals into water bodies have been implemented on a global scale. Different conventional wastewater treatments are not well-designed to remove emerging contaminants from wastewater with high efficiency. Therefore, particular attention has been paid to the phycoremediation technique, which seems to be a promising choice as a low-cost and environment-friendly wastewater treatment. This technique uses macro- or micro-algae for the removal or biotransformation of pollutants and is constantly being developed to cope with the issue of wastewater contamination. The aims of this review are: (i) to examine the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in water, and their toxicity on non-target organisms and to describe the inefficient conventional wastewater treatments; (ii) present cost-efficient algal-based techniques of contamination removal; (iii) to characterize types of algae cultivation systems; and (iv) to describe the challenges and advantages of phycoremediation.

Keywords: phycoremediation; contaminants of emerging concern; pharmaceuticals; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; ecotoxicology; wastewater treatment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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