Abstract

High adsorption performance of nanocomposite adsorbents for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and heavy metal remediation is widely reported under controlled laboratory conditions, yet the extent to which this performance translates to realistic water treatment remains unclear. This systematic review synthesized evidence from 231 studies to evaluate not only reported adsorption performance but also the maturity of the experimental evidence supporting functional stability under progressively more representative operating conditions. Among the included studies, only 16.9% evaluated authentic wastewater, 8.2% investigated continuous-flow systems, 14.7% assessed simultaneous PAH–metal removal within the same treatment system, and although 64.9% reported regeneration experiments, only 16.5% provided quantitative post-regeneration performance data. The evidence base was therefore dominated by simplified laboratory validation. Mechanistic synthesis showed that performance under realistic conditions is governed by interacting effects of matrix complexity, competitive adsorption, natural organic matter fouling, solution chemistry, and material degradation during repeated use, indicating that equilibrium adsorption metrics alone provide an incomplete assessment of practical treatment potential. Building upon these findings, a five-domain evidence-maturity framework is proposed to evaluate matrix robustness, multicomponent selectivity, dynamic operation, regeneration durability, and implementation readiness as complementary dimensions of functional stability. Rather than ranking materials by adsorption performance, the framework distinguishes reported removal from the strength of the supporting validation, providing a transparent pathway for comparing evidence across studies and identifying translational gaps. Future progress in nanocomposite-based remediation will depend less on achieving higher laboratory removal efficiencies than on demonstrating reliable, durable, and resource-conscious performance under realistic environmental and operational conditions.

Original language	en
Pages (from-to)	101514
Volume	23
Publication status	Published - 2026