Chapter 10
Photo-oxidation Technologies for Advanced
Water Treatment
Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Bhavya Arora, Sriparna Dutta,
and Manoj B. Gawande
Abstract Providing a sustainable source of clean and fresh water represents the
most serious global challenge facing humanity today. Major factors that contribute
towards impairing the quality of water are industrial and agricultural runoffs
containing toxic contaminants including dyes, pesticides, and other organic
moeities. They have identified to be highly problematic since they enter the food
chain, which leads to a large number of disorders. Such a critical issue indeed calls
for urgent action. The need to address this challenge has also been reflected in the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which ranks water quality among the
17 primary goals. Photo-oxidation technologies that rely on the power of absorbed
ultraviolet components of solar radiation to oxidize or reduce different substances in
diverse environmental strata have emerged as one of the most promising and
economically viable techniques for advanced water cleanup. This chapter provides
a detailed account of the progress that has been made in this field ranging from the
fundamental concept behind the UV radiation mediated processes to all the
engineered photooxidative technologies that are widely employed. A special emphasis is put on various potential and commercial photocatalytic reactors that have been
designed with the specific aim of degrading pollutants. In addition, a special section
has been devoted to the recently developed nano-photocatalytic systems that offer
excellent prospects for managing water pollution. A few case studies illustrate
practical implementation of UV-oxidation processes by leading companies such as
Merck & Co., BASF, and GlaxoSmithKline.
Keywords Photooxidation · UV irradiation · Degradation · Contaminants · Water
treatment · PhotoReactors
R. K. Sharma (*) · B. Arora · S. Dutta
Department of Chemistry, Green Chemistry Network Centre, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
M. B. Gawande (*)
Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Palacký University Olomouc,
Olomouc, Czech Republic
e-mail: manoj.gawande@upol.cz
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
J. Filip et al. (eds.), Advanced Nano-Bio Technologies for Water and Soil Treatment,
Applied Environmental Science and Engineering for a Sustainable Future,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29840-1_10
221
Photo-oxidation Technologies for Advanced
Water Treatment
Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Bhavya Arora, Sriparna Dutta,
and Manoj B. Gawande
Abstract Providing a sustainable source of clean and fresh water represents the
most serious global challenge facing humanity today. Major factors that contribute
towards impairing the quality of water are industrial and agricultural runoffs
containing toxic contaminants including dyes, pesticides, and other organic
moeities. They have identified to be highly problematic since they enter the food
chain, which leads to a large number of disorders. Such a critical issue indeed calls
for urgent action. The need to address this challenge has also been reflected in the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which ranks water quality among the
17 primary goals. Photo-oxidation technologies that rely on the power of absorbed
ultraviolet components of solar radiation to oxidize or reduce different substances in
diverse environmental strata have emerged as one of the most promising and
economically viable techniques for advanced water cleanup. This chapter provides
a detailed account of the progress that has been made in this field ranging from the
fundamental concept behind the UV radiation mediated processes to all the
engineered photooxidative technologies that are widely employed. A special emphasis is put on various potential and commercial photocatalytic reactors that have been
designed with the specific aim of degrading pollutants. In addition, a special section
has been devoted to the recently developed nano-photocatalytic systems that offer
excellent prospects for managing water pollution. A few case studies illustrate
practical implementation of UV-oxidation processes by leading companies such as
Merck & Co., BASF, and GlaxoSmithKline.
Keywords Photooxidation · UV irradiation · Degradation · Contaminants · Water
treatment · PhotoReactors
R. K. Sharma (*) · B. Arora · S. Dutta
Department of Chemistry, Green Chemistry Network Centre, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
M. B. Gawande (*)
Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Palacký University Olomouc,
Olomouc, Czech Republic
e-mail: manoj.gawande@upol.cz
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
J. Filip et al. (eds.), Advanced Nano-Bio Technologies for Water and Soil Treatment,
Applied Environmental Science and Engineering for a Sustainable Future,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29840-1_10
221