5 Photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants in wastewater treatment
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Getu Kassegn Weldegebrieal
Abstract
The expansion of urbanization and industrialization have primarily given rise to the contamination of the water body via direct or indirect routes. Wastewater treatment is pivotal to avoid its potential deleterious impact on animals and the environment and minimize clean water shortage. Effective removal of pollutants in wastewater using conventional treatment approaches such as adsorption, membrane filtration, flocculation, and flotation is often difficult to achieve due to the complex nature of wastewater matrix. These approaches have drawbacks such as incomplete pollutant removal and sludge formation, and does not involve degradation. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are promising technologies for degrading refractory organic contaminants, removing toxic heavy metal ions and microorganisms from water and wastewater. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is one of the AOPs involving the acceleration of the rate of chemical reactions in the presence of semiconductor catalyst, radiation, and pollutant. It has such merits as high removal efficiency, low cost, no sludge formation, environmental benignity, and easiness to integrate it with other treatment methods. However, its performance is influenced by factors such as nature and concentration of pollutants, catalyst loading, pH, presence of interferents, and presence of oxidants, which are discussed in this chapter one by one based on recent reports in the literature.
Abstract
The expansion of urbanization and industrialization have primarily given rise to the contamination of the water body via direct or indirect routes. Wastewater treatment is pivotal to avoid its potential deleterious impact on animals and the environment and minimize clean water shortage. Effective removal of pollutants in wastewater using conventional treatment approaches such as adsorption, membrane filtration, flocculation, and flotation is often difficult to achieve due to the complex nature of wastewater matrix. These approaches have drawbacks such as incomplete pollutant removal and sludge formation, and does not involve degradation. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are promising technologies for degrading refractory organic contaminants, removing toxic heavy metal ions and microorganisms from water and wastewater. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is one of the AOPs involving the acceleration of the rate of chemical reactions in the presence of semiconductor catalyst, radiation, and pollutant. It has such merits as high removal efficiency, low cost, no sludge formation, environmental benignity, and easiness to integrate it with other treatment methods. However, its performance is influenced by factors such as nature and concentration of pollutants, catalyst loading, pH, presence of interferents, and presence of oxidants, which are discussed in this chapter one by one based on recent reports in the literature.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- List of authors by chapter VII
- 1 Omics approaches for characterization of environmental microorganisms 1
- 2 Emerging technologies in environmental microbiology 33
- 3 Pollutants removal using aerobic granular sludge technology 59
- 4 Biofilm-mediated industrial wastewater treatment 79
- 5 Photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants in wastewater treatment 113
- 6 Biodegradation of organic pollutants by microbial process 137
- 7 Bauxite residue (red mud): microbial resources and their possible exploitation in remediation and rehabilitation 161
- 8 Advancements in application of dispersants to oil spills 185
- 9 Serpentinophytes-associated microbiota: a review of applications in environmental biotechnology 221
- 10 Microbial desalination cell: a versatile insight towards sustainable contribution 249
- 11 Control of antibiotic resistance by advanced treatment: recent advances, in a nutshell 265
- 12 Metal pollutants in the environment 291
- 13 The language of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria 325
- Index 341
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- List of authors by chapter VII
- 1 Omics approaches for characterization of environmental microorganisms 1
- 2 Emerging technologies in environmental microbiology 33
- 3 Pollutants removal using aerobic granular sludge technology 59
- 4 Biofilm-mediated industrial wastewater treatment 79
- 5 Photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants in wastewater treatment 113
- 6 Biodegradation of organic pollutants by microbial process 137
- 7 Bauxite residue (red mud): microbial resources and their possible exploitation in remediation and rehabilitation 161
- 8 Advancements in application of dispersants to oil spills 185
- 9 Serpentinophytes-associated microbiota: a review of applications in environmental biotechnology 221
- 10 Microbial desalination cell: a versatile insight towards sustainable contribution 249
- 11 Control of antibiotic resistance by advanced treatment: recent advances, in a nutshell 265
- 12 Metal pollutants in the environment 291
- 13 The language of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria 325
- Index 341
