A review of technologies for the phenolic compounds recovery and phenol removal from wastewater

The immoderate amount of phenol found in the water reservoir, i.e., river and municipal drain, has served as one major contributor to the scarcity of potable water worldwide. Many conventional methods have been applied to tackle polluted phenol water but suffer from various drawbacks. Special attention has been given to the photocatalytic membrane due to its ability to degrade phenol and sieving, a 2-in-1 function. Hence, this extensive report reviewed the extant trends in phenol removal such as distillation, adsorption, biodegradation, chemical oxidation, electrochemical oxidation, enzymatic treatment, and membrane technology. The in-depth discussion concerning the utilization of membrane as photocatalyst support media is also conferred, which could be the trendsetter in several years to come.