Advanced Oxidation Processes for Wastewater Treatment

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are highly efficient wastewater treatment technologies, based on using powerful hydroxyl radicals as oxidants for removal of a variety of impurities and industrial pollutants, such as organic chemicals, dyes, APIs, metals, inorganic chemicals, and microplastics. Different AOP technologies can be designed to use UV irradiation, photocatalysts, ozone, Fenton, and sonochemical processes; and a number of possible combinations may be used, depending on the type and quantity of contaminants present in the wastewater. Future research in the development of AOP technologies should be focused on both better catalyst development as well as better reactor design. This chapter reviews recent advances in various AOP technologies for wastewater treatment, including homogeneous and heterogeneous photocatalytic processes, Fenton, sonochemical, ozone, and wet air oxidation processes. The chapter further details the scope of process optimization parameters such as pH, temperature, concentration of pollutants, catalyst loading, and light intensity. Finally, the chapter details the advantages and disadvantages of different AOP technologies and provides a perspective on the future direction needed in development of AOP technologies for wastewater treatment.