In recent years, due to the high consumption of drugs both for human needs and for their growing use, especially as regards antibiotics, in the diet of livestock, water pollution has reached very high levels and attracted widespread attention. Drugs have a stable chemical structure and are recalcitrant to many treatments, especially biological ones. Among the methods that have shown high efficiency are advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) which are, among other things, inexpensive and eco-friendly. AOPs are based on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) able to degrade organic pollutants in wastewater. The main problem related to the degradation of drugs is their partial oxidation to compounds that are often more harmful than their precursors. In this review, which is not intended to be exhaustive, we provide an overview of recent advances in the removal of organic drugs via advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). The salient points of each process, highlighting advantages and disadvantages, have been summarized. In particular, the use of AOPs such as UV, ozone, Fenton-based AOPs and heterogeneous photocatalysis in the removal of some of the most common drugs (tetracycline, ibuprofen, oxytetracycline, lincomycin) has been reported.

In this work, MBi₂O₄‐P25 (M = Cu, Ni, Co, Zn) composites are successfully synthesized by a simple ball milling method by varying some parameters (rotation speed, rotation time, metal/TiO₂ ratio) to optimize the preparation conditions. The noble metal‐free TiO₂‐based photocatalysts are used to carry out the partial oxidation of glucose and glycerol with the simultaneous H₂ production under simulated solar light irradiation. Starting from glucose, 2.6 mmol of H₂ are obtained with a conversion of 34%, along with arabinose, formic acid and gluconic acid as main intermediates. By using glycerol, 3.2 mmol of H₂ are produced, with 17% conversion and the production of dihydroxyacetone and glycolic acid. The composites exhibit higher activity than pure P25 and CuBi₂O₄ (CBO). The produced H₂ amount is comparable to that reported in the literature by using Pt–TiO₂ photocatalysts. This study offers a paradigm for the future design of bifunctional photocatalysts for simultaneous noble metal‐free H₂ production and biomass valorization under environmentally friendly conditions with a possible scale up of the process.