key: cord-0811295-1nmv7qj8 authors: Teymoorian, Termeh; Teymourian, Targol; Kowsari, Elaheh; Ramakrishna, Seeram title: Direct and Indirect Effects of SARS-CoV-2 on Wastewater Treatment date: 2021-06-25 journal: Journal of water process engineering DOI: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102193 sha: f7d3b574261cab57d3a310527c9b2b4a57538b8d doc_id: 811295 cord_uid: 1nmv7qj8 The novel SARS-CoV-2 is expanding internationally. While the current focus is on limiting its transmission from direct contact with infected patients and surfaces during the pandemic, the secondary transmission potential via sewage should not be underestimated, especially in low-income and developing countries with weak wastewater treatment technologies. Recent studies have indicated SARS-CoV-2 positivity also be detected in the feces of patients. Therefore, the risk of transmission and infection can be increased into sewage by the fecal-oral way, mainly in some parts of the globe with a high amount of open defecation. This review collected scattered data and recent studies about the direct and indirect effects of coronavirus in the water cycle. The direct impacts of COVID-19 on wastewater are related to the presence of the coronavirus and suitable viral removal methods in different phases of treatment in wastewater treatment plants. The indirect effects of COVID-19 on wastewater are related to the overuse of cleaning and disinfecting products to protect against viral infection and the overuse of certain drugs to protect against virus or novel mental problems and panic to COVID-19 and consequently their presence in wastewater. This unexpected situation leads to changes in the quality of wastewater and brings adverse and harmful effects for the human, aquatic organisms, and the environment. Therefore, applying effective wastewater treatment technologies with low toxic by-products in wastewater treatment plants will be helpful to prevent the increasing occurrence of these extra contaminants in the environment. The crisis of COVID-19, which is caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, is presently posing a considerable threat to the economic growth and the health of the world, especially developing countries. SARS-CoV-2 is a single-stranded virus with a positive-sense of RNA and spherical shape, which belongs to the Coronaviridae family [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] . SARS-CoV-2 is more transmitted between the people rather than SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, especially in dense population places such as public transportations, industrial processing factories, prisons, nursing homes, and etc. [7] [8] [9] . Despite the worldwide lockdown attempts, the rates of positive COVID-19 cases are still high. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported the principal ways of coronavirus exposure are inhalation of respiratory droplets produced when a patient sneezes, coughs, and exhales or direct contact with infected surfaces [10] . Recent scientific researches announced the possible waterborne transmission of the SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, the presence of coronavirus RNA was confirmed by several reports in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) [11, 12] . The risk of transmission by the fecal-oral way into sewage can also be a crucial concern and should be highlighted in the areas that have not adequate water treatment and sanitation facilities [12, 13] . Even when the respiratory tract shows negative, stool may stay positive for SARS-CoV-2, and it raises a set of concerns about the possible presence between almost 10 2 -10 6.5 copies/L [29] . Although the possible infection of coronavirus is not proved, the existence of the virus is confirmed in the stool of a human until 33 days when the infected person's test is negative for SARS-CoV-2 [12] . demonstrated that in India, about 28.7% of rural people still do not have access to any type of toilet [31] . Hence, a considerable amount of viruses would be expected in sewage from the number of diagnosed infected individuals, which has been exhibited in studies from many countries affected by this crisis. Currently, real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR), nested RT-PCR and quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR), are the methods which are applied for the tracing of CVID-19 RNA [29] . (Table 1) Additionally, medical wastewater of toxic and hazardous materials must be treated before sending out to the wastewater system. Sewage services in healthcare facilities must be managed precisely and in a different way after the COVID-19 crisis, especially in the areas with low financial and technical resources like Palestine and India or some regions of Africa [30, 32, 33] . Moreover, huge demand in consumption of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, gloves, and shields, and improper disposal of this infected solid waste into the environment can increase not only the physical pollutants in water bodies but also can increase the risk of coronavirus transmission. Coronavirus can remain viable on surfaces such as stainless steel, cardboard, and plastic for hours or even days [42, 43] ; therefore, one of the best effective and practical ways to prevent and cope with the spread of coronavirus is to disinfect the surface and hands, and washing them successively. In recent research, it turns out that during the pandemic (from January to February 2020) in Wuhan city of China, almost 2000 tons of disinfectant were released into sewage systems [44, 45] . These huge contaminated water, without any treatment, can directly be discharged into water bodies or can reduce the water quality and create significant problems for wastewater treatment. This situation not only brings a high danger risk for drinking water resources but also threatens the marine environment [46, 47] . It turns out that excessive and successive use of disinfectants can increase drinking water consumption by 20 %, which could lead to more than 15 The other main problem of common soap in hard water is sedimentation, which has led to the improvement of organic chemicals. In spite of the fact that the structural characteristics of these developed compounds are like soap, their chemical properties are different, and they can foam whenever they are being used in hard or acid water. Detergents formulation consists of several types of surfactants. Surfactants relied on their electrolytic dissociation and are mainly separated into four groups according to the charge on their head group, including non-ionic, amphoteric, anionic, and cationic [54] [55] [56] . Properties of surfactants can be defined by the head group of them [57] . Various used types of surfactants are shown in Table 2 , and several impacts of detergents on wastewaters are explained in Table 3 Table 3 . Several impacts of detergents on wastewaters and the environment Reduction of dissolved oxygen levels  Due to the incomplete degradation of surfactants, massive foam can be created in rivers and streams near dams. This layer of foam, on the surface of waters, reduces oxygen penetration rate from air into water, contributing to aquatic organisms becoming defective in the adsorption of dissolved oxygen.  Entering phosphate into water leads to eutrophication, causing the noticeable growth of algae, which is resulting in a decrease in dissolved oxygen levels. [63, 64] Detrimental effect on fish  In high concentration, disrupt the fish vision  Damage to fish gills  Lead to alteration chemical and physical parameters of waters (pH, turbidity, salinity, and temperature), which reduce water quality and can affect the used dissolved oxygen concentration for fish.  Almost deadly for the fish at the detergent concentration above 200 ppm  Bringing signs of distress, slow swimming, and difficulty breathing in fish [63, 65] J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f Detrimental effect on soil ecosystem  Even though detergents are useful for photosynthetic function, their existence brings negative effects on the germination of the plants  Soil structure gradually destroyed  Plant health be affected by their negative effect  Increasing the pH of the soil, resulting in separation of soil elements  The electrical conductivity of soil be increased by irrigation with water containing detergent content [53, 64, 66] Hand sanitizer can be separated into two main groups: alcohol-free or alcohol-based. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are recommended by WHO during the COVID-19 pandemic due to their several advantages, including rapid action and protection against viruses and bacteria. This situation leads to the huge consumption of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. For example, in Japan, in April 2020, the production of alcohol disinfectants in the Kao company increased by 2,000% to fight the shortage [67] [45] . It turns out the overuse of hand sanitizer might become harmful to the environment and human health [68] . Overusing hand sanitizer contributes to antimicrobial resistance, putting more burdens on healthcare professionals, who already have been struggling with this problem [44] . The most effective formulation of hand sanitizer contains 62%-95% alcohol because it could inactivate viruses and denature the proteins of microbes. In general, alcohol-based hand sanitizers are mainly made up of isopropyl alcohols and ethanol [67] [45] . Ethanol has a huge directly negative impact on aquatic organisms. Many kinds of research have been done to investigate the effects of ethanol on various species. In addition, the large amounts of isopropanol in water might lead to environmental impairment due to its high potency to decrease oxygen in the water, which ultimately brings adverse effects on the aquatic living system [69] . During the COVID-19 pandemic, the consumption of certain drugs, such as antibiotics, antidepressants and sedatives, drug of abuse, anabolic steroids, vitamin supplements, antidiarrheals, antitussives, antipyretics, and analgesics has increased among people. This increase in demand and use of the drugs has enhanced concern globally, which is affecting developing and even developed countries [16, [70] [71] [72] . The consumption of antimicrobials in the prevention and therapy of COVID-19 is arising. A lot of people incorrectly try to protect themselves against the COVID-19 by self-medicate with antibiotics, Moreover, the usage of amoxicillin/clavulanate had a notably higher rate in all COVID-19 clusters [71] . The WHO and other specialists suggested that antimicrobial treatment should not be started for suspected or affirmed mild COVID-19 unless in critically COVID-19 patients with a high clinical suspicion of bacterial infection [75] . The increased antimicrobials usage can have critical outcomes with the existence of antimicrobial elements in the environment, which can stimulate resistance of the antimicrobials, and even in minimal amounts can present unpleasant impacts in non-target creatures. It has been indicated that above 80% of amoxicillin is discharged by urine from the person's body after two hours, and consequently, the existence of amoxicillin in water sources and wastewaters can lead to harmful ecological problems [76] . A new typhoid fever epidemic in Pakistan has been related to the resistance of antibiotics due to inappropriate consumption of drugs, weak sanitation, and polluted water supplies [77] . Moreover, the novel COVID-19 pandemic has influenced people's mental health due to bereavement, fear lockdown, and loss of income in society, leading to an increase in depressive episodes in the countries such as UK, China, Spain, and the USA [16, 78, 79] . Antidepressants, which are considered in the classification of psychiatric drugs, are in the first step of therapy to treat depression, anxiety, and episodes which are resulting from the imposed quarantine. Psychiatric drugs are in the category of organic compounds which are comprising sertraline, carbamazepine, fluoxetine, citalopram, etc. [80] . Results indicated that European countries are the most antidepressants consumers in the world based on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data [81] . These drugs are relatively metabolized and excreted; hence, they enter into wastewater, and traditional treatments are not able to remove them. Varied literature confirms the existence of antidepressants in water sources worldwide and wastewater treatment plants, which can potentially be toxically bioaccumulated in the tissues of water organisms such as some aquatic plants, mollusks, and fishes [82] . The fate of these emerging pollutants, whenever released into the environment, depends on the concentrations of hydroxychloroquine as a drug that received considerable attention due to its potential to treat COVID-19 were also obvious in daily sludge samples in the third week of investigation [72] . The specifications and environmental impacts of some drugs are collected in Table 4 . J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic has huge negative direct and indirect impacts on water and wastewater quality. All of the already mentioned new contaminants can find a way to reach surface water and negatively affect the environment (Fig 1) . The possible pathways of different contamination in water during the COVID-19 pandemic J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f The treated wastewater from treatment plants is usually discharged into receiving bodies of water or reused for purposes such as recreation and irrigation. This section deals with the introduction and evaluation of the effectiveness of different physical, biological, and chemical methods and unit operations that are currently used to remove organic contaminants and deactivate viruses. Hence, they can generally be used at the varied stages of the wastewater treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Preventing the spread of the virus in the environment all around the world is crucial before utilizing reclaimed water. There are three main phases to treat the infected water from coronavirus to safe water for recycling or reusing. The first treatment phase includes physical actions such as screening, grit chamber, and initial sedimentation in order to eliminate infected solids that are suspended in the wastewater. The second and third treatment phases consist of biological treatment actions to eliminate the biodegradable organic matter, and physicochemical treatment actions to further decrease turbidity, remaining organics, heavy metals, and pathogens such as coronavirus, respectively [91, 92] . Although specific additional research about these methods on SARS-CoV-2, regular monitoring of their efficiency in real water treatment with considering all factors affecting virus survival and environmental considerations is needed to choose the best disinfection technology. The first treatment phase consists of physical processes that include the elimination of volatile and fixed solids suspended in sewage via physical barriers. Virus adsorption onto the large suspended solids in sewage, which is accompanied by gravitational sedimentation, is considered as the main and first mechanism in the treatment phase for the virus removal [93] . However, according to the available scientific reports, the gravitational sedimentation in the primary treatment phase is insufficient for the viral removal entirely from the sewage. The removal of coronavirus RNA through wastewater treatment operations has been seen for additional treatments comprising secondary and tertiary treatment, and tertiary treated wastewater is reused for irrigation and public domain directly [94] . J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f Biological techniques such as membrane bioreactor, activated sludge, extended aeration biological processes, etc., are mainly used as part of the secondary treatment phase in the wastewater treatment plants [94] . Past studies have exhibited a higher elimination of the intestinal viruses by secondary treatment processes rather than the first treatment processes. Other studies have also reported the coronavirus resistance and survival in primary treatment was slightly higher than in secondary treatment due to the existence of higher organics in the primary treatment stage, which were protecting viruses from damaging [95, 96] . In the activated sludge technique, uptake of viral particles on the organic biomass and elimination by sedimentation through the secondary clarifier assigned as the important and main mechanism for the virus elimination in the wastewater treatment [97] . The membrane bioreactor is used in the secondary treatment phase of wastewater to remove viral particles considerably, and it consists of membrane filtration and a suspended growth bioreactor. Membrane technology is cost-effective and environmentally friendly, with small or no chemical usage, a considerable decrease in the equipment size, and easy accessibility [98, 99] . Based on recent studies, the high energy requirement is the major limitation of this technology, which is among 0.45 and 0.65 kWh.m -3 for the highest optimum performance [100, 101] . Membrane bioreactor operations are designed with more retention times of solids towards activated sludge processes, which leads to varied treatment performances and other related conditions. The disadvantages of membrane compared to activated sludge are related to more operational difficulties and complexity [102] . The third phase of treatment includes operations such as coagulation, filtration, ultraviolet (UV), chlorination, ozonation, performic acid, nanomaterials, etc. [92] . Nanomaterials such as titanium dioxide, zero-valent iron, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been applied for the inactivation and elimination of viruses in sewage [107, 108] . The structure of the virus consists of a genome and, a protein capsid without or with an envelope. The initial purpose of the viral disinfection (such as UV, chlorination, ozonization, etc.) is to change one of these parts by applying environmental stress [105] . The viral envelope is more vulnerable to disruption. Hence, non-enveloping virus illustrates the upper resistance to inactivation and less susceptibility to unfavorable situations [109] . Free available chlorine was released through disinfection procedures, and its main sources are chlorine elements, chloramines, sodium hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, calcium hypochlorite, and chloroisocyanurates. The presence of chlorine as hypochlorite ion (ClO-) and hypochlorous acid (HOCl) stay the most successful methods to combat viral particles. Hypochlorite is one of the powerful oxidizing agents which is oxidizing organic contaminants effectively, while undissociated hypochlorous acid is the microbiocidal agent primarily [110, 111] . One of the major concerns and challenges in successful chlorination can be the existence of ammonia, which required chlorine for additional co-pollutants and pH. The Cl binds with the ammonia make a chlorine combination (chloramines), which is not effective and efficient enough against viral particles like free chlorine. Therefore, it is definitely pivotal to assure that Cl is not adsorbed by different demanding substrates such as organic matter, ferrous ion, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and nitrites. Organic matters normally neutralize chlorine-based materials, which cause short-term risks on the environment for plants and soil [112, 113] . after the second and third treatments. After normal activated sludge, about 11% of samples remained positive to coronavirus RNA; however, after the third treatment, 100% of samples changed to negative by using disinfection with NaClO, and in several cases, which can be combined with ultraviolet (UV) [40] . Zhang et al. used a high dose of sodium hypochlorite to disinfect hospital sewage from SARS-CoV-2; however, this method had a high level of residual by-products, which possessed notable environmental risks [114] . Performic acid is a less-stable common disinfectant and oxidizing agent with the formula CH 2 O 3, which is a combination of hydrogen peroxide (35%) and formic acid (10 to 20%) [115] . It has many benefits over chlorine and can be more efficient to inactive viruses, bacterias, and fungus during wastewater treatment [116] . Performic acid also can apply at conditions with low-temperature (under 25 °C); hence, it can be used in cold areas or during winter [117] . Performic acid decomposes quickly, which leads to enhance the amount of reactive oxygen and consequently making more powerful disinfection and produce non-toxic H 2 O 2 and formic acid as by-products [118] . UV radiation effectively controls the growth of microbial in any medium, like air, water, and any kind of surface. Currently, different environmental public settings around the world, such as health care facilities, hospitals, airports, and shopping centers, are considering the UV disinfection devices implementation for disinfection of the surfaces that are frequently touched and streams of circulating air. However, the applied UV-C energy dosage must be balanced in order to obtain acceptable biocidal efficiency levels and prevent excessive energy that can damage the surfaces and reduce the predicted lifetime [119] . In recent years the ultraviolet disinfection technique is more interested in water treatment because it is a clean disinfectant and effective against most waterborne pathogens comprising several microbial pollutants that are relatively resistant [120] . Moreover, this method can easily operate and install, and [122] . Disinfection efficiency of UV may be reduced dramatically by algae with biofouling of the lamp, colored and turbid substances protecting microorganisms [123] . Hence, the secondary treatment followed by UV helps residual protection and assures microbial shielding redundancy. Ozone is a clean and potent oxidizing factor, which is an effective microbicide against protozoan, ozonated water for about 1 min, in comparison to control groups [126] . The combination of treatment techniques comprising UV treatment, ozonation, and chlorination could inactive about almost 99.99% of fecal coliform in water, and no coronavirus was found after disinfection. The studies revealed that applying the ozonation technique enhanced transmittance of UV by almost 20-30% inside the water, and as a result, UV dose can be decreased [127] . In general, conventional treatment systems that are existing today might not be able to completely In the following, different water treatment methods with proper efficiency for cleaning and pharmaceutical compounds are discussed, and the advantage and disadvantages of each method are mentioned in Table 5 . Moreover, some of the related studies with these methods are summarized in Table 6 . In order to separate the interface of two phases, adsorption can be used with two classifications: The performance for the removal efficiency of surfactants can be increased by ultrasonication. [134] . Also, carbon nanotubes are effective adsorbents for removing pharmaceutical compounds [135] . However, carbon nanotubes in the largescale application are limited because of several problems such as difficult separation contribute to leakage into water bodies and eventually has adverse effects on human health and ecosystems [134] . can be considered as the proper candidate for the adsorption of the anionic surfactant due to several properties such as being cost-effective and having high adsorption capacity. The ionic interactions caused higher adsorption in comparison with non-ionic interactions [139] . The effect of pore and particle size on the anionic surfactant adsorption by four activated carbons which have various pore sizes, indicated that the activated carbon with a smaller pore size between 0.56-0.77 nm could adsorb more anionic surfactant in comparison with other activated carbons. The particle size has a remarkable effect on the small particle due to the complex compound formation between cations of surfactant molecules and activated carbon. Although using activated carbon has several drawbacks such as inefficient regeneration, poor adsorption selectivity, and expensive synthesis. However, taking advantage of economical raw materials which have efficient regeneration ability for the synthesis of activated carbons can improve this adsorbent for the removal of surfactants [140] [139] . Moreover, according to the literature, activated carbons have a high performance in the adsorption of pharmaceuticals. One of the advantages of activated carbon for removing pharmaceuticals is that pharmacologically or toxic active products do not generate [129] . Chitosan is a biocompatible, biodegradable, and non-toxic mucoadhesive biopolymer. It is an economical, renewable, and generally available biomaterial and, after cellulose, is the most abundant natural polysaccharide [141] . Parhizgar et al. investigated that this adsorbent could successfully remove 97% of the SDBS (anionic) surfactant, and its adsorption capacity was almost 6.38 mg/g [142] . Generally, from literature results, the unmodified chitosan has low adsorption capacity in comparison to modified chitosan for anionic surfactants. Chitosan can be modified with various methods such as doping with metals or cross-linking contribution to the higher surface area to having more active sites [143] . AOPs can degrade almost all kinds of organic pollutants into harmless products. This method is considered an environmentally friendly process because pollutants could not transfer from one phase to another one, and massive, hazardous sludge does not be produced in this method [144, 145] . AOPs can reduce organic pollutant concentration from hundreds ppm to less than near 5ppb [146] . This method relies on the generation of OH • (reactive hydroxyl radicals). After series of oxidation reactions, ultimate mineralization products, which are CO 2 Some studies have been done with using AOPs as an effective treatment for pharmaceutical pollutants [130, 151] and surfactants [152, 153] . Mechanisms of degradation might vary from one method to another one. The Fenton-based AOPs popularity has been much dependent on the selection of iron-based catalysts for water treatment. Although, due to the limitation in the solubility of iron species, the efforts of research have focused on the development of iron-free Fenton systems for the H 2 O 2 activation. However, one disadvantage of using Fenton's technique is sludge formation, which contains iron hydroxide as a secondary product. Thus, sludge disposal should be considered in the initial cost and design process. Moreover, the Fenton process requires continuous pH adjustment because this process needs a lower pH [154] [155] [156] . The AOPs are recommended to be applied in new or existing wastewater treatment plants. For highly concentrated wastewater, AOPs are suitable to be considered as pre-treatment to decompose recalcitrant organic contaminants into biodegradable intermediates or products that can later be eliminated in biological post-treatments [154] . Ultrasonic irradiation (sonochemistry) is a promising technique for the degradation of various types of hazardous organic compounds and pollutants from wastewater with undesirable impacts in the water environment. Ultrasonic irradiation can commence pyrolytic and oxidative degradation procedures. This method does not need any chemical additives and can successfully apply to sludge, colored or turbid solutions. Ultrasonic irradiation exposure induces acoustic cavitation in water. Sonochemistry is in the category of AOPs, a phenomenon that is related to the production, growth, J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f and intense collapse of gaseous bubbles into water (known as cavitation) in the pressure (~1000 atm) and high temperature (~5000 K) conditions. Irradiation of water with ultrasound decomposes water molecules into highly reactive radicals, including • H and • OH. These reactive radicals can react with each other or diffuse to consider as an oxidant [157] [158] [159] . Kıdak and Doğan removed and degraded antibiotic amoxicillin by ultrasonic irradiation alone and with ozonation. The ultrasonic irradiation treatment was applied at three different frequencies (575, 861, and 1141 kHz). Due to the synergistic impact, the combination of ultrasound and ozone gave rise to a rate constant of almost 2.5 min -1 , which was 625 times more than alone ultrasound. This hybrid degradation pathway, which is considered an advanced oxidative process, confirms the lower toxicity due to the low producing toxic intermediates [160] . Serna-Galvis et al. demonstrated the total elimination and mineralization of the antidepressant drug fluoxetine by sonochemical process combined with biological treatment. The alone biological treatment cannot remove the contaminant, even after five days and under desirable conditions. But, the sonochemical process (600 kHz) was able to eliminate the pharmaceutical. After 240 and 360 min of sonicating in the biological procedure, microorganisms could remove 20 and 70% of the primary total organic carbon, respectively [88] . Biological treatment is a common method, especially for detergents and pharmaceutical pollutants that exist in wastewater. The effluent of this method can be returned to the river, and the sludge can be used as a fertilizer for the soil. The mentioned contamination can be considered as a nutrient source or energy for microorganisms in the biodegradation process. The mechanism of biodegradation can be changed by several factors such as anaerobic and aerobic conditions or the chemical structure of the contamination [161] [162] [163] . Aerobic degradation can be accomplished in various ways, such as using activated sludge tanks, oxidation bonds, and trickling filters. Each method has a considerable impact on removal efficiency. Although activated sludge tanks have almost 99% removal efficiency for LAS, however, the trickling filters have a wider range of 89.1-99.1% removal efficiencies [161, 164] . Moreover, LAS has removal efficiency in the range of 40 -85% under anaerobic conditions depending on which method was used [165, 166] . In addition, the high chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration of pharmaceutical wastewater caused it suitable for anaerobic processes. Based on some studies, COD reduction on antibiotic residues was by 70 to J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f 75%, and some research reports that combining a filter and the anaerobic sludge blanket leads to high removal efficiency [167, 168] . However, there are many limitations that cause it unsuitable to consider as a sole treatment method for the removal of surfactants from wastewater. One disadvantage is that this method is suitable for a low concentration of surfactant. This is because, in a concentration above almost 1,000,000 μg/L, the surfactant can depolarize the bacterial cell and can destroy function and structure [164, 169] . By taking advantage of chemical pre-treatment for wastewater before enters to the treatment plant, mentioned problems could be mitigated. The huge advantage of pre-treatment of wastewater is to convert these compounds to products that could be more biodegraded. There are numerous methods for per-treatment, and AOPs can be considered as one of the commonly used methods [164, 169] . Coagulation-flocculation is considered a chemical water treatment method that can usually be applied prior to filtration and sedimentation. This simple and low-cost method is used to improve the ability of a treatment action in order to remove pollutants such as surfactants. are generally used in this process [170, 171] . Residual contents of inorganic coagulants like Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 .18H 2 O might cause Alzheimer disease [172] . Thus, it is better to use fewer inorganic coagulants, and these materials should be replaced with ecofriendly materials [173] . It has been turned out that this method is effective and useful for the removal of the surfactant from wastewaters. In many kinds of research, removing the surfactant was roughly 95% in wastewater, and COD reduction was approximately 88% [147] . Presently, there is a considerable research gap in the survival of SARS-CoV 2 in the water and the and the results showed that only chlorine disinfection samples remain positive. Hence, the UV disinfection was more successful than chlorine disinfection, and operators of WWTPs should enhance the free residual chlorine concentration to ≥0.5 mg.L -1 for effective disinfection [192] . The development of environmentally friendly and low-cost processes for viral removal are other opportunities for scholars to manage and reduce the growing health and environmental risks from any similar future crisis. Another crucial environmental concern related to the COVID-19 epidemic is the extra use of disinfectants, detergents, and soaps and the overuse of specific drugs to protect against virus or novel mental problems related to quarantine. Their excretion into wastewater not only can pollute drinking water resources but also includes a potential threat to the aquatic environment. Hence, future studies should be directed to update and re-design WWTP to be able to remove these extra amounts of organic compounds efficiently and create environmentally-friendly cleaning products such as hand sanitizers and soaps with low toxic by-product formation for humans and environmental safety. Further communication among regulatory agencies with chemical, biological and medical researchers is needed to explore additional acceptance and validation of these water treatment approaches which are applied to make claims of successful water treatment, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. The authors whose names are listed in this paper certify that they have NO affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers' bureaus; membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest; and expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements), or non-financial interest (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript. 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Petroleum An evaluation of the effect of a detergent on dissolved oxygen consumption rate of Anabas testudineus Detergent and sewage phosphates entering into lake ecosystem and its impact on aquatic environment Chronic affects of detergent surfactant (Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate/LAS) on the growth and survival rate of sea bass (Lates calcalifer Bloch) larvae Influence of Anionic surfactant on saturated hydraulic conductivity of loamy sand and sandy loam soils Hand sanitizers: a review on formulation aspects, adverse effects, and regulations. International journal of environmental research and public health Isopropanol poisoning COVID-19 and frequent use of hand sanitizers; human health and environmental hazards by exposure pathways Self-medication during Covid-19 pandemic: challenges and opportunities. Drugs & Therapy Perspectives Impact of the pandemic on antimicrobial consumption patterns Traffic, Drugs, Mental Health, and Disinfectants: Changes in Sewage Sludge Chemical Signatures During a COVID-19 Bacterial and fungal coinfection in individuals with coronavirus: a rapid review to support COVID-19 antimicrobial prescribing Environmental side effects of the injudicious use of antimicrobials in the era of COVID-19 Tackling antimicrobial resistance in the COVID-19 pandemic Removal of caffeine, nicotine and amoxicillin from (waste) waters by various adsorbents. A review ‗Frightening'typhoid fever outbreak spreads in Pakistan Stress, anxiety, and depression levels in the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in a population sample in the northern Spain. Cadernos de saude publica Correlates of symptoms of anxiety and depression and mental wellbeing associated with COVID-19: a cross-sectional study of UKbased respondents Occurrence and risk assessment of psychoactive substances in tap water from China OECD health data: pharmaceutical market. OECD Health Statistics (Database) Adsorption mechanisms of psychoactive drugs onto montmorillonite. Colloid and Interface Science Communications Carbamazepine removal from water by carbon dot-modified magnetic carbon nanotubes Does the antidepressant sertraline show chronic effects on aquatic invertebrates at environmentally relevant concentrations? A case study with the keystone amphipod, Gammarus locusta Antidepressants (venlafaxine and citalopram) cause foot detachment from the substrate in freshwater snails at environmentally relevant concentrations. Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology Ecotoxicological impact of pharmaceuticals found in treated wastewaters: study of carbamazepine, clofibric acid, and diclofenac. Ecotoxicology and environmental safety Sonochemical degradation of the pharmaceutical fluoxetine: effect of parameters, organic and inorganic additives and combination with a biological system Biodegradable Gloves for Waste Management Post-COVID-19 Outbreak: A Shelf-Life Prediction Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in water environments. Current opinion in biotechnology Wastewater engineering: treatment, disposal, and reuse Municipal wastewater treatment Animal communication: when i'm calling you, will you answer too? 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Environmental science & technology Survival of viruses in water Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in water and wastewater Nanomaterials for removal of waterborne pathogens: Opportunities and challenges Applications of carbon nanotubes for controlling waterborne pathogens Analysis of the survival of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus and possible viral simulants in liquid suspensions Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC-anhydrous and dihydrate) Use of Chloroisocyanuarates for disinfection of water: Application of miscellaneous general chemistry topics Environmental considerations of disinfectants used in agriculture. Revue scientifique et technique (International Office of Epizootics) Evaluation of the health risks associated with disinfection Potential spreading risks and disinfection challenges of medical wastewater by the presence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral RNA in septic tanks of Fangcang Hospital Impedimetric test for rapid determination of performic acid (PFA) biocidal activity toward Echerichia coli Comparison of organic peracids in wastewater treatment: Disinfection, oxidation and corrosion Performic acid as a potential disinfectant at low temperature Performic acid (PFA): Tests on an advanced primary effluent show promising disinfection performance. Water Science and Technology A Critical Review on Ultraviolet Disinfection Systems against COVID-19 Outbreak: Applicability, Validation, and Safety Considerations Inactivation credit of UV radiation for viruses, bacteria and protozoan (oo) cysts in water: a review Virus disinfection mechanisms: the role of virus composition, structure, and function. 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Environmental science & technology As-synthesized multi-walled carbon nanotubes for the removal of ionic and non-ionic surfactants Removal of endocrine disrupting compounds, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products in water using carbon nanotubes: A review Pharmaceutical emerging pollutants removal from water using powdered activated carbon: study of kinetics and adsorption equilibrium Adsorption of Pharmaceuticals as emerging contaminants from aqueous solutions on to friendly surfaces such as activated carbon: A review Surfactant adsorption onto activated carbon and its effect on absorption with chemical reaction Selection and evaluation of adsorbents for the removal of anionic surfactants from laundry rinsing water. Water research Surfactant removal from aqueous solutions onto activated carbon using UV spectroscopy. Desalination and Water Treatment Application of chitosan, a natural aminopolysaccharide, for dye removal from aqueous solutions by adsorption processes using batch studies: a review of recent literature. Progress in polymer science Removing sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) from aqueous solutions using chitosan A review on recent developments in the adsorption of surfactants from wastewater Application of advanced oxidation processes for TNT removal: a review Degradation of 4-chlorophenol by photolytic oxidation Advanced oxidation processes-current status and prospects Wastewater Treatment Technologies Used for the Removal of Different Surfactants: A Comparative Rate constants of reactions of ozone with organic and inorganic compounds in water-II: dissociating organic compounds PEG-assisted synthesis of crystal TiO2 nanowires with high specific surface area for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of atrazine Hazardous wastes treatment technologies Treatment of chlorophenols from wastewaters by advanced oxidation processes. Separation & Purification Reviews Photocatalytic degradation of nonionic surfactant, Brij 35 in aqueous TiO2 suspensions Degradation of the commercial surfactant nonylphenol ethoxylate by advanced oxidation processes Review of iron-free Fenton-like systems for activating H2O2 in advanced oxidation processes Advanced oxidation processes for the treatment of surfactant wastes Uv-h2o2 advanced oxidation of anionic surfactant: reaction kinetics, effects of interfering substances and operating conditions Investigation of Ultrasonically Induced Degradation of Tris (2-chloroethyl) Phosphate in Water Chemical effects of ultrasound on aqueous solutions. Evidence for hydroxyl and hydrogen free radicals (. cntdot. OH and. cntdot. H) by spin trapping Hydroxyl radical generation and partitioning in degradation of methylene blue and DEET by dual-frequency ultrasonic irradiation Medium-high frequency ultrasound and ozone based advanced oxidation for amoxicillin removal in water Anionic surfactants in treated sewage and sludges: risk assessment to aquatic and terrestrial environments Removal of a broad range of surfactants from municipal wastewater-comparison between membrane bioreactor and conventional activated sludge treatment Complete degradation of xenobiotic surfactants by consortia of aerobic microorganisms The role of surfactants in wastewater treatment: Impact, removal and future techniques: A critical review Anaerobic treatment of sludge: focusing on reduction of LAS concentration in sludge Formation of metabolites during biodegradation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate in an upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactor under thermophilic conditions Performance of an up-flow anaerobic stage reactor (UASR) in the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater containing macrolide antibiotics Anaerobic treatment of a chemical synthesis-based pharmaceutical wastewater in a hybrid upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor Physicochemical treatments of anionic surfactants wastewater: Effect on aerobic biodegradability Functionalized cellulose to remove surfactants from cosmetic products in wastewater. Carbohydrate polymers The removal of anionic surfactants from water in coagulation process Optimizing linear alkyl benzene sulfonate removal using Fenton in Taguchi Method Effect of Fenton process (H2O2/FE2+) on removal of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) using centeral composite design and response surface methodology Highly mesoporous K2CO3 and KOH/activated carbon for SDBS removal from water samples: batch and fixed-bed column adsorption process. Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management Advances in adsorption of surfactants and their mixtures at solid/solution interfaces Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) in wastewater treatment Use of selected advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for wastewater treatment-a mini review Combination of advanced oxidation processes and biological treatments for wastewater decontamination-a review Review of the technological approaches for grey water treatment and reuses. Science of the total environment Removal of surfactant from industrial wastewaters by coagulation flocculation process Adsorption of cationic and anionic surfactants onto organic polymer resin Lewatit VPOC 1064 MD PH. Environmental geochemistry and health Purification of waters from anionic and cationic surfactants by natural zeolites. ԵՊՀ Գի տակ ան տե ղ ե կ ագ ի ր -ք ի մ ի ա և կ ե ն ս աբ ան ո ւ թ յ ո ւ ն The investigation of adsorption thermodynamics and mechanism of a cationic surfactant, CTAB, onto powdered active carbon. Fuel processing technology Adsorption of anionic surfactants from aqueous solution by high content of primary amino crosslinked chitosan microspheres Synergistically improved adsorption of anionic surfactant and crystal violet on chitosan hydrogel beads Development of highly water stable graphene oxide-based composites for the removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research Enhanced sonocatalytic degradation of carbamazepine and salicylic acid using a metal-organic framework Adsorption of amoxicillin antibiotic from pharmaceutical wastewater by activated carbon prepared from Azolla filiculoides Photocatalytic degradation of amoxicillin, ampicillin and cloxacillin antibiotics in aqueous solution using UV/TiO2 and UV/H2O2/TiO2 photocatalysis. Desalination Solar photo-Fenton like using persulphate for carbamazepine removal from domestic wastewater Methanogenic potential of an anaerobic sludge in the presence of anionic and nonionic surfactants The presence of SARS-CoV-2 in raw and treated wastewater in 3 cities of Iran: Tehran, Qom and Anzali during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak The authors would like to gratefully thank the AmirKabir University of Technology (AUT), Tehran, Iran, for their financial support.