Heterogeneous photocatalysis has emerged as a versatile and sustainable technology for the degradation of emerging contaminants in water. This review highlights recent advancements in photocatalysts design, including band gap engineering, heterojunction formation, and plasmonic enhancement to enable visible-light activation. Various reactor configurations, such as slurry, immobilized, annular, flat plate, and membrane-based systems, are examined in terms of their efficiency, scalability, and operational challenges. Hybrid systems combining photocatalysis with membrane filtration, adsorption, Fenton processes, and biological treatments demonstrate improved removal efficiency and broader applicability. Energy performance metrics such as quantum yield and electrical energy per order are discussed as essential tools for evaluating system feasibility. Special attention is given to solar-driven reactors and smart responsive materials, which enhance adaptability and sustainability. Additionally, artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches are explored as accelerators for catalyst discovery and process optimization. Altogether, these advances position photocatalysis as a key component in future water treatment strategies, particularly in decentralized and low-resource contexts. The integration of material innovation, system design, and data-driven optimization underlines the potential of photocatalysis to contribute to global efforts in environmental protection and sustainable development.

Emerging pollutants such as pharmaceuticals and synthetic dyes increasingly enter agricultural soils through irrigation with treated or untreated wastewater and via biosolid amendments, raising concerns for plant health, soil functionality, and food chain safety. Their environmental behavior is governed by complex interactions between compound physicochemistry, soil properties, and plant physiology, leading to variable persistence, mobility, and ecotoxicological outcomes. This review synthesizes current evidence on the fate, uptake, and phytotoxic effects of drug and dye contaminants in plant–soil systems, and provides a comparative assessment of ecological risks before and after photocatalytic wastewater treatment. The analysis integrates findings from soil- and hydroponic-based studies addressing pollutant sorption–desorption dynamics, leaching, microbial transformations, and plant responses ranging from germination impairment and biomass reduction to oxidative stress and genotoxicity. Special emphasis is given to the formation and behavior of transformation products generated during photocatalytic degradation, which may display altered mobility or toxicity relative to parent compounds. Comparative evaluation reveals that photocatalysis substantially reduces contaminant loads and toxicity in many cases, although incomplete mineralization or the formation of reactive intermediates can sustain or enhance adverse effects under certain conditions. By linking pollutant fate mechanisms with plant and soil responses, this review highlights both the potential and the limitations of photocatalysis as a sustainable strategy for safeguarding agroecosystems in the context of expanding wastewater reuse.