ABSTRACT
Pharmaceutical industries contribute to 25% of world water pollution which severely affect the environment as per World Health Organization (WHO). There is a continuous demand of drugs worldwide, thus leading to rapid accumulation of waste from pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceuticals are a subdivision of micro-pollutants, present in the environment in trace concentrations and most of these compounds are noxious and carcinogenic in nature. Numerous studies have reported negative outcomes of pharmaceutical compounds for both aquatic and terrestrial organisms, and especially for microorganisms that are resistant to various drugs and antibiotics. Therefore, there are different literature reported methods, which describe removal of pharmaceutical wastewater pollutants through various physical, chemical and biological treatments. The huge concern about the instigation of sustainability practices into the development of novel delivery systems and products that constitute a lower environmental menace with greener manufacturing methods have intensified surveillance on this topic. Therefore, this chapter evaluates areas that remain unexplored and highlights the work that beats the impediment related with cost and environment friendly approaches.
