Photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceuticals: Insights into biochar modification and degradation mechanism

A severe worldwide catastrophe is developing due to the emerging multidrug resistance in bacteria with rising pharmaceutical contamination. Recent advancements in pharmaceutical remediations using biochar-based composites have made encouraging progress. Improvement in biochar engineering increased the effectiveness of biochar by generating distinctive interactions with pharmaceutical pollutants. The catalytic property of biochar was significantly boosted by modification, particularly with chemical and metal composites. This review provides an overview of the recent advancements in the last three years for the photocatalytic degradation of toxic pharmaceutical compounds using biochar-based photocatalysts. The importance of biochar in photocatalytic performance is highlighted, and different sources of biochar and biochar modification techniques are briefly discussed. Various factors influencing the rate of photodegradation and the pharmaceutical removal mechanism are also discussed. The significant difficulties that must be overcome for the expansion and real-time implementation of wastewater treatment are also covered.