Status, Trends and Advances in Bioremediation pp. 163-169
Editors: Dr. Natchimuthu Karmegam
Dr. Mani Prakash
ISBN: 978-93-94174-13-9
Chapter 9
Effective Hybrid Treatment Techniques for the Remediation of Emerging Pollutants in Pharmaceutical Wastewater
J. R. Anoop Raj1, R. Yedhu Krishnan1, M. Biruntha2 and R. Subbaiya3*
1Department of Food Technology, Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kanjirappally, Kottayam – 686 518, Kerala, India
2Department of Animal Health and Management, Alagappa University, Karaikudi, 630 003, Tamil Nadu, India
3Department of Biological Sciences, School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, The Copperbelt University, Riverside, Jambo Drive, P O Box 21692, Kitwe, Zambia
Abstract
In recent years, we have witnessed the fast growing developments in pharmaceutical industry is an integral part of any nation’s economy to deal with the current pandemic situation due to COVID-19. Due to the advancements and demand in pharmaceutical sector, along the product development, a huge quantity of wastewater is being generated which contains lot of emerging pollutants. The composition and characteristics of pharmaceutical wastewater is very complex, due to the presence of high BOD value, low C/N, extreme salinity, high sulfate concentration, presence of toxic pollutants, high SS concentration and the existence of diverse range of harmful microbiota. This makes the system difficult to treat under normal environmental conditions in ETP systems. To improve the removal efficiency of emerging pollutants from pharmaceutical wastewater, advanced bioremediation is an effective technique in coupling with various physicochemical treatment methods. In this chapter, an effective bioremediation treatment technique was introduced, and the removal of emerging pollutants present in pharmaceutical wastewater was summarized. The various methods of bioremediation treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater were reviewed afterwards, which included biological treatment approach through integrated bioprocessing, engineered microbial approaches, open pond culture systems and phytoremediation. Overall, bioremediation is the most feasible and economical way to remove organic pollutants from effluent waste water.
Keywords
Pharmaceutical industry, Wastewater, Bioremediation, Emerging pollutants
Cite this Chapter: Anoop Raj, J. R., Krishnan, R. Y., Biruntha, M., Subbaiya, R., 2022. Effective hybrid treatment techniques for the remediation of emerging pollutants in pharmaceutical wastewater. In: N. Karmegam and M. Prakash (Eds.), Status, Trends and Advances in Bioremediation. Excellent Publishers, India. pp. 163-169. doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/978-93-94174-13-9_8
