A review on the occurrence and treatment of methylpyridine: An industrial solvent

Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, Howrah-711 103,
West Bengal, India
E-mail: believe.rach@gmail.com
Manuscript received online 08 December 2020, accepted 29 December 2020

Methylpyridines are used as solvents and raw materials in preparation of various chemical products in the agro-chemical,
pharma and textile industries. The excessive presence of alkylpyridines in aquatic ecosystems has led to serious concerns
regarding their neurotoxicity. An increasing volume of 2-methylpyridine (2Mp) containing wastewater is let out as effluent by
various industries due to poor regulations regarding its usage and production, especially in developing countries. This observation
coupled with the refractory nature of 2Mp, mandate its complete removal from the environment. The present review
consolidates the physical properties, occurrence scenarios, pathways to exposure and methods of removal of 2Mp from aqueous
or simulated solutions. Industrial working environments, nearby surface water bodies, and contaminated surface and subsurface
soil were found to be the pathways for human exposure to 2Mp. While conventional biological treatment was found
to be slow and not as efficient, sorptive processes based on nanomaterial sorbents were found to have tremendous potential
in 2Mp treatment over a wide range of concentrations.