A review of recent advances in green and sustainable technologies for removing 4-nitrophenol from the water and wastewater

The growing global concern over water contamination, primarily caused by human and industrial activity, emphasizes the need for efficient environmental remediation techniques. The release of phenolic compounds into water and wastewater is highly problematic. One of the most prevalent phenolic compounds is 4-nitrophenol, an industrially important but hazardous compound that seriously affects both living things and the environment. The harmful effects of 4-nitrophenol accentuate the significance and urgent need of tackling its' contamination problem. This paper critically examines various environmentally friendly and sustainable methods for the removal of 4-nitrophenol from water and wastewater. The paper provides an in-depth exploration of applications of green and sustainable remediation approaches such as bioadsorption, biodegradation, green catalytic reduction, and photocatalytic degradation, as well as their recent advancements in 4-nitrophenol removal, underscoring the intricate mechanisms involved therein. Moreover, the challenges and future prospects of applications of these green technologies were also presented, highlighting the limitations of each method and ways of addressing it. The review contributes to the current discourse on environmentally responsible and long-lasting ways to reduce 4-nitrophenol's negative effects on global water resource systems in order to achieve a sustainable development goal (SDG 6).