Increasing dependency on pharmaceutical compounds including antibiotics, analgesics, antidepressants, and other drugs has threatened the environment as well as human health. Their occurrence, transformation, and fate in the environment are causing significant concerns. Several existing treatment technologies are there with their pros and cons for the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater (PWW). Still, electrocoagulation is considered as the modern and decisive technology for treatment. In the EC process, utilizing electricity (AC/DC) and electrodes, contaminants become coagulated with the metal hydroxide and are separated by co-precipitation. The main mechanism is charge neutralization and adsorption of contaminants on the generated flocs. The range of parameters affects the EC process and is directly related to the removal efficiency and its overall operational cost. This process only could be scaled up on the industrial level if process parameters become optimized and energy consumption is reduced. Unfortunately, the removal mechanism of particular pharmaceuticals and complex physiochemical phenomena involved in this process are not fully understood. For this reason, further research and reviews are required to fill the knowledge gap. This review discusses the use of EC for removing pharmaceuticals and focuses on removal mechanism and process parameters, the cost assessment, and the challenges involved in mitigation.

中文翻译：

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使用电凝处理水/废水中的药物化合物：探索机遇和挑战的综述

对包括抗生素、镇痛药、抗抑郁药和其他药物在内的药物化合物的日益依赖已经威胁到环境和人类健康。它们在环境中的发生、转化和归宿引起了人们的极大关注。现有的几种处理技术在处理制药废水 (PWW) 方面各有利弊。尽管如此，电凝仍被认为是现代和决定性的治疗技术。在 EC 过程中，利用电 (AC/DC) 和电极，污染物与金属氢氧化物凝结并通过共沉淀分离。主要机理是电荷中和和污染物吸附在生成的絮凝物上。参数范围影响 EC 过程，并直接关系到去除效率及其整体运营成本。如果工艺参数得到优化并降低能耗，则该工艺只能在工业水平上扩大规模。不幸的是，该过程中涉及的特定药物的去除机制和复杂的物理化学现象尚未完全了解。因此，需要进一步的研究和审查来填补知识空白。本综述讨论了使用 EC 去除药物，并重点关注去除机制和工艺参数、成本评估以及缓解所涉及的挑战。不幸的是，该过程中涉及的特定药物的去除机制和复杂的物理化学现象尚未完全了解。因此，需要进一步的研究和审查来填补知识空白。本综述讨论了使用 EC 去除药物，并重点关注去除机制和工艺参数、成本评估以及缓解所涉及的挑战。不幸的是，该过程中涉及的特定药物的去除机制和复杂的物理化学现象尚未完全了解。因此，需要进一步的研究和审查来填补知识空白。本综述讨论了使用 EC 去除药物，并重点关注去除机制和工艺参数、成本评估以及缓解所涉及的挑战。