Contaminants of emerging concern: a review of new approach in AOP technologies Maryam Salimi & Ali Esrafili & Mitra Gholami & Ahmad Jonidi Jafari & Roshanak Rezaei Kalantary & Mahdi Farzadkia & Majid Kermani & Hamid Reza Sobhi Received: 21 December 2016 /Accepted: 23 June 2017 /Published online: 24 July 2017 # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 Abstract The presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), endocrine-disrupting com- pounds (EDCs), flame retardants (FRs), pesticides, and artificial sweeteners (ASWs) in the aquatic environ- ments remains a major challenge to the environment and human health. In this review, the classification and occurrence of emerging contaminants in aquatic envi- ronments were discussed in detail. It is well documented that CECs are susceptible to poor removal during the conventional wastewater treatment plants, which intro- duce them back to the environment ranging from nano- gram per liter (e.g., carbamazepine) up to milligram per liter (e.g., acesulfame) concentration level. Meanwhile, a deep insight into the application of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) on mitigation of the CECs from aquatic environment was presented. In this regard, the utilization of various treatment technologies based on AOPs including ozonation, Fenton processes, sonochemical, and TiO 2 heterogeneous photocatalysis was reviewed. Additionally, some innovations (e.g., visible light heterogeneous photocatalysis, electro- Fenton) concerning the AOPs and the combined utiliza- tion of AOPs (e.g., sono-Fenton) were documented. Keywords Contaminants of emerging concern . Wastewater treatment plant . Effluent . Advanced oxidation processes . Hydroxyl radicals . Combined process Abbreviations APIs Active pharmaceutical ingredients AOPs Advanced oxidation processes ASWs Artificial sweeteners BPA Bisphenol A BDD Boron-doped diamond CECs Contaminants of emerging concern DOC Dissolved organic carbon DW Drinking water DWTP Drinking water treatment plant ESI Electro-spray ionization EDCs Endocrine-disrupting compounds FRs Flame retardants GC-MS Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry GW Groundwater HPLC High-performance liquid chromatography ·OH Hydroxyl radical IC Ion Chromatography LOQ Limit of quantification LC-MS/MS Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry Environ Monit Assess (2017) 189: 414 DOI 10.1007/s10661-017-6097-x M. Salimi : A. Esrafili (*) : M. Gholami : A. Jonidi Jafari : R. Rezaei Kalantary : M. Farzadkia : M. Kermani Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran e-mail: a.esrafili@iums.ac.ir H. R. Sobhi Department of Chemistry, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran