Over the past few decades, the boom in the industrial sector has contributed to the release of pollutants into the environment that have no regulatory status and may significantly impact the health of all living things. These pollutants, also referred to as “emerging pollutants,” are mostly aromatic compounds that derive from pharmaceutical excretions, industrial effluents, and municipal discharges. Some other forms of pollutants have also evolved, including the proliferation of acid mine drainage from oxidation or weathering of obsolete and unmanaged excavations around the world; this mostly results in the dispersion of inorganic pollutants in the environment at a level surpassing the treatment capacity of conventional techniques. These days, finding water treatment plants that produce water fit for domestic consumption based on newly established guidelines is a recurring problem.

This situation has prompted water authorities and researchers to develop tools for the proper prediction and control of pollutants dispersed in the environment to ensure that appropriate measures are being taken to prevent outbreaks of disease from occurring due to a sudden load of these pollutants in the water system. The chapters in this book cover a wide range of nano- and bio-based techniques designed for effective detection and removal of emerging contaminants from environmental water sources, including geochemical models that are continually improved to predict the migration of inorganic contaminants from the solid wastes of mines into ground and surface waters. Remediation strategies are also discussed, including effective techniques based on nanotechnology, advanced membrane filtration, and oxidative and biodegradation processes using various types of nanocatalysts, biocatalysts, or supporting polymer matrices. These strategies are currently at an advanced investigative stage for large-scale implementation for the removal of recalcitrant pollutants from polluted water.

This book is divided into two sections: the first section covers the occurrence of emerging pollutants in environmental waters, while the second section covers state-of-the-art research on the removal of emerging pollutants from water using sustainable technologies. The various topics presented in these two sections are essentially based on recent developments in the field that could have a significant impact on the enhancement of the performance of wastewater treatment plants around the world, especially in developing countries where access to clean and safe water remains a daily challenge.

This book will be of interest to academic researchers in the environmental, chemistry, engineering, biochemistry, biotechnology, mineralogy, and geochemistry fields; and professionals such as industrial environmental managers, water treatment plant managers and operators, water authorities, government regulatory agency officers, and environmentalists. The various interested parties who read this book will certainly be inspired to consider multidisciplinary and sustainable approaches for the remediation of water pollution, given that the emerging pollutants are resistant to current treatment processes.

The editor is grateful to the experts who have contributed to improving the quality of the book through their thorough review of the chapters. I deeply hope that this book will significantly contribute to the development of affordable and effective processes to permanently resolve issues of water shortage due to pollution in areas facing such challenges throughout the world.