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REVIEW article

Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Toxicology, Pollution and the Environment
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1455377
This article is part of the Research Topic Emerging Contaminants and Aquatic Ecosystem Health View all articles

Occurrence, sustainable treatment technologies, potential sources, and future prospects of emerging pollutants in aquatic environments: A review

Provisionally accepted
Qiqi Zhou Qiqi Zhou 1*Hongfeng Chen Hongfeng Chen 1Guijian Liu Guijian Liu 2Xiaohui Wang Xiaohui Wang 1
  • 1 Research Academy of Environmental Sciences of Anhui Province, Hefei, China
  • 2 University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Emerging contaminants (ECs), such as polyfluorinated compounds, antibiotics, microplastics, and nonylphenol, continue to challenge environmental management practices due to their persistence and bioaccumulation potential. This review articulates the critical pathways and environmental risks posed by these contaminants, setting the stage for an in-depth exploration of innovative removal technologies. We spotlight groundbreaking methods that are reshaping the landscape of ECs remediation: membrane filtration technology, constructed wetlands, adsorptive materials, algae-based systems, biological treatments, and advanced oxidation processes. Each method is evaluated for its efficacy in removing ECs, with particular emphasis on sustainability and economic viability. Our findings reveal that integrating these technologies can significantly enhance removal efficiency, offering new directions for environmental policy and practical applications. This article positions these advanced removal technologies at the forefront of the fight against ECs, advocating for their broader adoption to safeguard environmental and public health.

    Keywords: emerging contaminants, Risk Assessment, Removal technologies, Environmental Pollution, sustainable development

    Received: 26 Jun 2024; Accepted: 27 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhou, Chen, Liu and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Qiqi Zhou, Research Academy of Environmental Sciences of Anhui Province, Hefei, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.