Sono-photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in water

Abstract

Sono-photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater is a newly developed advanced oxidation process (AOP). In this process, the efficiency of photocatalysis is promoted by ultrasonic cavitation, free-radical and mechanical effects, and thus synergetic degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater is achieved. The sono-photocatalytic combined process displays a big potential because of its advantages such as simpleness, environmentally friendly and widely applications. In this paper, degradation mechanism, degradation kinetics, influence factors (the type and concentration of photocatalyst, ultrasonic frequency and intensity, pH values, temperature, initial concentration of organic pollutants, dissolved gas and ionic strength) and the type of reactor (suspension and fix bed) for the sono-photocatalytic combined process are reviewed. The main problems and the prospect of sono-photocatalytic combined process for wastewater treatment are presented.