The occurrence, characteristics and control of ribavirin and chloroquine phosphate in the aquatic environment: a review

Abstract

Ribavirin (RBV) and chloroquine phosphate (CQP) are widely used antiviral drugs, and have raised considerable concern due to their ubiquitous nature, persistence, bioaccumulation, and high toxicity. In this paper, the sources and routes of RBV and CQP in the environment are documented, and the potential risks associated with these two antiviral drugs are analyzed. Besides, considering that conventional sewage treatment shows a limited removal effect on RBV and CQP, this review also provides a summary of the effectiveness of several advanced treatment processes in treating RBV and CQP, including biological treatment, photodegradation process, adsorption, membrane treatment, advanced oxidation process and advanced reduction process. The advanced oxidation process is a promising method because of its non-selectivity, short reaction time, and high treatment efficiency, and can also be combined with other treatment processes. In future research, the challenge of developing and optimizing cost-effective and efficient techniques for RBV and CQP removal should be surmounted.