Sustainable hybrid technologies for diclofenac disposal: from innovation to commercial feasibility
Abstract
The widespread presence of diclofenac (DCF) in wastewater poses significant environmental and health risks, requiring advanced treatment strategies that go beyond conventional methods. This review explores the innovation, scalability, and commercial feasibility of hybrid wastewater treatment systems for efficient DCF removal, highlighting how different treatment processes can be combined and configured according to wastewater characteristics and treatment objectives. Hybrid approaches integrating adsorption, membrane filtration, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), and biological treatments have demonstrated superior removal efficiencies, often exceeding 90%, due to their synergistic effects. However, their transition from laboratory-scale success to full-scale implementation remains limited by high energy demands, operational costs, and regulatory compliance challenges. This review provides a critical assessment of process optimization, and sustainable engineering strategies that enhance hybrid system performance. Special emphasis is placed on life cycle assessments (LCA) and industrial benchmarks to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability of emerging technologies, which provide promising pathways toward energy-efficient and scalable wastewater treatment solutions. Additionally, the integration of circular economy principles, including adsorbent regeneration and resource recovery, presents new opportunities for sustainable wastewater management. By bridging technological advancements with commercial viability, this review highlights the potential of hybrid systems to meet real-world industrial and regulatory requirements. The findings offer valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and the wastewater treatment industry seeking to implement cost-effective, sustainable, and adaptive hybrid technologies for pharmaceutical contaminant removal.
Related
- Circular Economy Approaches for Sustainable Waste Management: A Review on Integration of AI, Advanced Technologies and Policy Recommendations
- The spirit of independent innovation: an exploratory study of Mr. J.S. Lee's scientific research traits
- Acid Sites, Pore Architecture and Catalytic Function in Commercial Clay Catalysts
- Reducing water usage to cool cows by applying “smart” technologies
- How innovation capacity moderates the drivers of global supply chain restructuring in Vietnam
BibTeX
@article{gutierrezramirez2026sustainable,
title = {{Sustainable hybrid technologies for diclofenac disposal: from innovation to commercial feasibility}},
author = {Rodrigo Gutiérrez-Ramírez and Samira El Omari and Mehdi Mennani and Leila Azaryouh and Mohamed Laabd and Zineb Kassab and Fabián Fernández-Luqueño and Youness Abdellaoui},
journal = {RSC Advances},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1039/d6ra05914g},
url = {https://u-picardie.hal.science/hal-05749213v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Sustainable hybrid technologies for diclofenac disposal: from innovation to commercial feasibility
AU - Rodrigo Gutiérrez-Ramírez
AU - Samira El Omari
AU - Mehdi Mennani
AU - Leila Azaryouh
AU - Mohamed Laabd
AU - Zineb Kassab
AU - Fabián Fernández-Luqueño
AU - Youness Abdellaoui
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/14
JO - RSC Advances
DO - 10.1039/d6ra05914g
UR - https://u-picardie.hal.science/hal-05749213v1
AB - The widespread presence of diclofenac (DCF) in wastewater poses significant environmental and health risks, requiring advanced treatment strategies that go beyond conventional methods. This review explores the innovation, scalability, and commercial feasibility of hybrid wastewater treatment systems for efficient DCF removal, highlighting how different treatment processes can be combined and configured according to wastewater characteristics and treatment objectives. Hybrid approaches integrating adsorption, membrane filtration, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), and biological treatments have demonstrated superior removal efficiencies, often exceeding 90%, due to their synergistic effects. However, their transition from laboratory-scale success to full-scale implementation remains limited by high energy demands, operational costs, and regulatory compliance challenges. This review provides a critical assessment of process optimization, and sustainable engineering strategies that enhance hybrid system performance. Special emphasis is placed on life cycle assessments (LCA) and industrial benchmarks to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability of emerging technologies, which provide promising pathways toward energy-efficient and scalable wastewater treatment solutions. Additionally, the integration of circular economy principles, including adsorbent regeneration and resource recovery, presents new opportunities for sustainable wastewater management. By bridging technological advancements with commercial viability, this review highlights the potential of hybrid systems to meet real-world industrial and regulatory requirements. The findings offer valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and the wastewater treatment industry seeking to implement cost-effective, sustainable, and adaptive hybrid technologies for pharmaceutical contaminant removal.
SN - 2046-2069
ER -