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Review | Industrial and Domestic Waste Management | Volume 5 - Issue 1 - 2025 | 50-67 | https://doi.org/10.53623/idwm.v5i1.710
© 2025 by the author(s), and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License

Chemical Remediation of Pharmaceutical Pollutants in Contaminated Soils: A Review of Oxidation-Based Approaches

Author(s): Upeksha Gayangani Jayasekara 1 ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8201-0618 , Aimie Peace Siganul 1 , Kadupitige Shashikala Dilrukshi Premarathna 2 ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4147-9348
Author(s) information:
1 Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Curtin University, Malaysia
2 Department of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Curtin University Malaysia

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Industrial and Domestic Waste Management

Volume 5 - Issue 1 - 2025

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The objective of this study is to develop effective chemical treatment methods to break down stubborn pharmaceutical pollutants in contaminated soil, enhancing its quality and reducing environmental risks. Numerous pharmaceuticals, which are substances used to cure or prevent illnesses in both humans and animals, are classified as pollutants of increasing concern because of their extensive environmental dispersion and their negative effects on populations. This is due to the constant discharge of sludge and effluent from wastewater treatment plants, which happens far more quickly than the removal of pharmaceuticals; they are frequently discovered in soils at considerable concentrations. Conventional wastewater treatment is unable to effectively remove pharmaceuticals from influent streams or biosolids, despite the fact that they are often present at low ambient quantities. Furthermore, through surface runoff and leaching, the application of animal manure to the soil can cause pharmaceuticals to contaminate the soil. Adsorption to soil colloids and degradation through the soil profile are some of the mechanisms that influence the behaviour and fate of pharmaceuticals in soils. The primary factor influencing how much organic matter is absorbed by plant roots is the sorption of pharmaceuticals in soils. This pharmaceutical pollutant in contaminated soil can lead to a negative impact on human and soil health. Therefore, remediation techniques such as chemical oxidation, soil washing, bioremediation, and phytoremediation should be used to reduce the pharmaceutical pollutants in the contaminated soil.

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SUBMITTED: 30 May 2025
ACCEPTED: 24 June 2025
PUBLISHED: 26 June 2025
SUBMITTED to ACCEPTED: 25 days
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53623/idwm.v5i1.710

Cite this article
Jayasekara, U. G. ., Siganul, A. P. ., & Premarathna, K. S. D. . (2025). Chemical Remediation of Pharmaceutical Pollutants in Contaminated Soils: A Review of Oxidation-Based Approaches. Industrial and Domestic Waste Management, 5(1), 50–67. https://doi.org/10.53623/idwm.v5i1.710
Keywords
Pharmaceutical pollutants chemical oxidation contaminated soil adsorption degradation
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