Photodegradation of Water Pollutants

Book excerpt: Photodegradation of Water Pollutants, the only complete survey available of current photocatalytic methods for treating water pollutants, covers all aspects of light-stimulated detoxification. Ideal for researchers and students, this new book explains methods for pollution treatment that have proven more effective than conventional biodegradation. Photodegradation of Water Pollutants examines advanced oxidation processes that have been successful in treating the chemical substances produced by industrial effluents and intensive agriculture. These oxidation processes include irradiation with ultraviolet or visible light, the use of homogenous sensitizers, such as dyes, and the use of heterogeneous photocatalysts, such as dispersed semiconductors. In addition, Photodegradation of Water Pollutants addresses the naturally occurring self-cleaning of some pollutants in sunlit surface waters, as well as several alternative non-photochemical approaches to water treatment. Available treatment options are discussed for the main groups of water pollutants, including toxic inorganic ions (cyanides, heavy metals), hydrocarbon derivatives (oil spills, surfactants, pulp and paper wastes), halocarbons, organo-N, organo-P, and organo-S compounds. The text also contains a unique section on the economics of advanced oxidation pollution treatments.