Electrochemical degradation of contrast media

This work provides a critical review of the most recent works in electrochemical remediation of wastewater-containing contrast media, which are very concerning pollutants that are resistant to conventional treatments in wastewater treatment plants. The focus is on iodinated contrast media and gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs). After a short introduction in which non-electrochemical methods are presented, electro-oxidative and electro-reductive methods are discussed in the former case. A short section is also dedicated to methods based on a combination of the two. In the case of GBCAs, a brief presentation of non-electrochemical techniques is also reported, followed by some electrochemical treatments for Gd3+. Considering the lack of literature on the use of electrochemical methods for the removal of this type of magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents, the potential of electrochemistry for the degradation in this field is then explored.