Abstract
Pharmaceuticals in wastewater effluents represent a current environmental concern, which demands application of effective processes. In such regard, sonochemical advanced oxidation processes emerge as an attractive alternative, as illustrated herein. This chapter begins presenting some fundamental aspects of sonochemical treatments (e.g. effects of frequency, power and nature of pharmaceutical pollutants). In second place, the transformations of pharmaceuticals are described, considering topics such as the used analytical techniques and structural modifications of pollutants by chemical effects of ultrasound. Then, treatment of diverse wastewater containing pharmaceuticals are shown, paying special attention to degradations in complex matrices, reactors configurations and combination of ultrasound with membrane filtration processes. Final part is dedicated to highlight the key points presented along the chapter.