## 6 Removal of Pharmaceutical Pollutants in Wastewater by Nanosorbents  
### Removal of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs  
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are a significant class of pharmaceuticals that are increasingly emerging as micropollutants due to their high bioactivity and persistence in aquatic systems [136]. NSAIDs' physicochemical properties that contribute to their persistence include extremely high hydrophilicity (as measured by moderate log Kow coefficients) and average water solubility, which allow for good mobility of these drugs in aquatic bodies. Toxins derived by NSAIDs can cause bioaccumulation, genotoxicity, and alterations in aquatic creatures' reproductive abilities [29]. The properties of adsorbents, such as adsorption capacity, specific surface area, optimal adsorption conditions, and order of adsorption, impact NSAIDs removal. Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that is discharged into the environment through hospital and medical effluents, pharmaceutical wastewater, and animal usage. Because of their reported maximal adsorption capacity, carbon-based adsorbents are the best class of adsorbents for the removal of ibuprofen among the numerous adsorbents examined [89]. For the elimination of ibuprofen, [89], utilized a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and oxidized MWCNTs (O-MWCNTs). In comparison, SWCNTs outperformedmulti-walled counterparts with 231.5 mg/g sorption capacity due to structural benefits, i.e., greater pore volume and unique surface. The ideal pH in this method is 7.0. At this pH, total charge density is maximal and the dissociated proton and carboxylate molecules of ibuprofen (pKa of 4.9) have a larger affinity with the negatively charged CNTs, hence promoting ibuprofen sorption [89]. [PERSON] et al. [106] evaluated the effectiveness of several adsorbents for the removal of ketoprofen, including graphene oxides, graphene, SWCNTs, MWCNTs, and powdered graphite. At a pH of 6.5, SWCNTs exhibited remarkable adsorption effectiveness towards ketoprofen, with 91.5 mg/g of adsorption capacity. The sorption process involved a chemical interaction between the functional groups linked to the aromatic ring and negatively charged ketoprofen molecules, which was later shown to be electron donor-based reactions [106]. A potential long-term sorption approach for diclofenac and ketoprofen elimination was created using carbon nanospheres produced from cellulose by hydrothermal carbonization [137]. The primary adsorption process was discovered as stacking interactions in conjunction with hydrogen bond formation. The release of carboxyl functional units from the pharmaceuticals causes steric hindrance and electrostatically repulsive forces to be formed during lengthy periods of contact between sorbent and drugs, resulting in adsorption site blockage and poor effectiveness. Magnetically assisted nanosorbents have been intensively researched in recent years due to their better adsorption capabilities, higher kinetics, and cost-effective method to extracting contaminants from aquatic systems. [PERSON] et al. [138] created CNTs containing COOH, MnO\({}_{2}\), and Fe\({}_{3}\)O\({}_{4}\) groups for ibuprofen adsorption from aqueous solution. The maximum adsorption capacity for ibuprofen achieved was \(\sim\)103.1 mg/g. On the other hand, nanocomposite could be separated by an external magnetic field. [PERSON] et al. [139] investigated the effect of magnetic core-modified silver nanoparticles on ibuprofen adsorption. At pH 6.5 and room temperature, 93% of the ibuprofen was removed within 45 min, and the adsorbed could be entirely extracted from the medium using a magnet [139]. According to the typical Gibbs free energy G0 (kJ mol\({}^{-1}\)) values, ibuprofen adsorption by magnetic core-modified silver nanoparticles was a physisorption process. Similarly, a magnetic nanomaterial surface designed with L-cysteine-modified 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane was developed for the removal of ibuprofen from contaminated water streams [140].