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Abstract
The appearance of pharmaceuticals in wastewater has become a significant concern to both the water treatment industry as well as consumers. The availability of advanced treatment methods has optimized the removal of these compounds present in wastewater sources. The latest development in polymers as flocculants and combining it with other treatment helps to reduce the quantities of these pharmaceuticals in the final wastewater effluent. This paper gives an insight on the potential usage of polymer flocculants and its combination with particles, organic substances and conventional adsorbents towards removing pharmaceutical compounds from wastewater. Polymer flocculants alone will have a limited ability in pharmaceuticals removal. The flocculation process combination with adsorption on natural components and particles is always necessary. Interaction of polymers with adsorbents in the wastewater could also play an important role in their removal by polymer flocculants due to its proven implementation. An understanding of the changes in processes and mechanisms involving the polymers is essential for achieving effective removal rate. Combination of polymer flocculants with conventional adsorbents such as carbon and clays during the treatment process could lead to a new effective and economic approach in removal of the pharmaceutical compound.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Nalco Netherlands B.V., especially Dr Sonia Lopez; Waterboard Rijnland (the Netherlands) and Agentschap (the Netherlands) for the research grant (Optimix Project); and Dr Jaap de Koning and Dr Sigrid Scherrenberg for initial planning of the study. In addition the scholarship given by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Learning (KPT, Malaysia), and Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK, Malaysia), which provided financial support for the PhD study is gratefully acknowledged.