Waste-Derived Materials for Pharmaceutical Removal from Wastewater: A Bibliometric and Critical Review of Adsorption, Advanced Oxidation Processes, and Future Perspectives

The presence of pharmaceuticals in wastewater has emerged as a critical global environmental challenge due to increasing consumption, active excretion, and improper disposal practices. As emerging contaminants, these compounds exhibit persistence and ecotoxicity even at low concentrations, posing risks to aquatic ecosystems and human health. This review integrates a systematic bibliometric analysis with a critical assessment of agricultural, electronic, and industrial waste valorization as sources of low-cost adsorbents and catalysts for pharmaceutical removal. Unlike previous reviews, it combines quantitative mapping of research trends with an in-depth discussion of adsorption and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), emphasizing removal mechanisms, material performance, and operational parameters. Particular attention is given to hybrid adsorption–oxidation systems, scalability challenges in real wastewater matrices, transformation-product toxicity, techno-economic feasibility, and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Finally, key research gaps and future directions are identified to support the sustainable large-scale implementation of waste-derived technologies for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment in practice.