What are AOPs, what environmental issues can afford to and what environmental issues can be addressed?
Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) rely on the in situ production of very powerful and highly reactive oxidant species, namely hydroxyl radicals (HO·). These species can react unselectively with a wide range of organic contaminants (e.g., pharmaceuticals, pesticides, endocrine disruptors compounds, dyes, etc.) contained in different polluted environmental matrices (groundwater, surface water, urban wastewater, industrial wastewater, soil, sediments, sludge, air). Hydroxyl radicals can be generated by both photochemical processes (e.g., ultraviolet (UV) radiation in combination with ozone (O3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), Fe2+/H2O2 (Fenton reagent), heterogeneous catalysts (e.g., TiO2)) and non-photochemical processes (e.g., electron beam irradiation, O3 in combination with H2O2 or Fenton reagent).