| Treatment method | Benefits | Dares |
| Traditional Biological activated carbon | A large variety of ECs reduction from wastewater. Reduction of remaining disinfection/oxidation products [33] [34] [35] [36] . Not producing hazardous active products. | Comparatively elevated cost in running and maintenance. Regeneration and disposal hurdles of high sludge. Processing of sludge may elevate global cost by 50% - 60%. |
| Microalgae reactor | Resource recovery of algal biomass, employed as fertilizer [37] [38] [39] . Elevated quality effluent & no acute toxicity danger linked with ECs. | Reduction efficiencies touched by cold season. EDCs cannot be decomposed conveniently.
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| Activated sludge | Lower capital and operational costs than AOPs. More environmental friendly than chlorination [40] [41] [42] . | Low efficiencies for pharmaceuticals and beta-blockers. Large amount of sludge containing ECs. Unsuitable where chemical oxygen demand levels are greater than 4000 mg/L. |
| Non-traditional Constructed wetland | Low energy consumption and low operational & maintenance costs. High performance on removal of estrogens, PCPs, pesticides and pathogens. | Clogging, solids entrapment and sediments formation. Biofilm growth, chemical precipitation and seasonal dependent. Needs large area of lands and long retention time. |
| MBR | Effective for the removal of bio-recalcitrant and ECs. Small footprint. | High-energy consumption, fouling, and control of heat and mass transfer. High aeration [43] cost and roughness of membrane [44] [45] . Pharmaceutical pollutants have low efficiencies. |
| Chemical process Coagulation | Reduced turbidity arising from suspended inorganic and organic particles [46] [47] [48] . Increased sedimentation rate through suspended solid particles formation [49] [50] [51] . | Ineffective micropollutants removal [52] [53] [54] . Large amount of sludge [55] [56] [57] . Introduction of coagulant slats in the aqueous phase [58] [59] [60] [61] . |
| Ozonation | Strong affinity to ECs in the presence of H2O2. Selective oxidant favoring disinfection and sterilization properties [62] . | Interference of radical scavengers. |
| AOPs | Major ancillary effects on removal of ECs such as EDCs, pharmaceuticals, PCPs and pesticides. Short degradation rate. | Energy consumption issues, operational & maintenance cost. Formation of toxic disinfection by-products [63] [64] . Interference of radical scavengers. |
| Fenton and photo-Fenton | Degradation and mineralization of ECs. Sunlight can be used by avoiding UV light. | Decrease of ●OH forming chloro and sulfato-Fe(III) complexes or due to scavenge of ●OH forming Cl2● and SO4●− in the presence of chloride and sulfate ions. |
| Photocatalysis (TiO2) | Degrading persistent organic compounds. High reaction rates upon using catalyst. Low price and chemical stability of TiO2 catalyst and easier recovery. | Difficult to treat large volume of wastewater. Cost associated with artificial UV lamps and electricity. Separation and reuse of photocatalytic particles from slurry suspension. |
| Physical process Micro-orultra-filtration | Can remove pathogens. Applicable for heavy metal removal. | Not fully effective in removing some ECs as pore sizes vary from 100 to 1000 times larger than the micropollutants. High cost of operation. |
| Nanofiltration (NF) | Useful for treating saline water and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) influents. Can remove dyestuff and pesticides. | High-energy demand, membrane fouling and disposal issue [65] . Limited application in pharmaceutical removal. |
| Reverse osmosis | Useful for treating saline water and WWTP influents. Can remove PCPs, EDCs and pharmaceuticals. | High-energy demand, membrane fouling and disposal issue [66] . Corrosive nature of finished water & lower pharmaceutical removal. |