Pharmaceutical Industry Wastewater: Review of the Technologies for Water Treatment and Reuse

Pharmaceutical compounds are typically produced in batch processes leading to the presence of a wide variety of products in wastewaters which are generated in different operations, wherein copious quantities of water are used for washing of solid cake, or extraction, or washing of equipment. The presence of pharmaceutical compounds in drinking water comes from two different sources: production processes of the pharmaceutical industry and common use of pharmaceutical compounds resulting in their presence in urban and farm wastewaters. The wastewaters generated in different processes in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and drugs contain a wide variety of compounds. Further, reuse of water after removal of…