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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2019) | Viewed by 43281

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Frontistis Zacharias

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Río, Greece
Interests: water and wastewater treatment; Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs); photocatalysis; ozonation; photo fenton; sonochemistry; activated persulfate; electrochemical oxidation; emerging contaminants; disinfection; artificial neural network
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The research on the application of different physcochemcial processes based on the in situ production of reactive oxygen species has been showing impressive growth in recent years The objective of this issue is to present recent advances in the field of environmental applications of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) Therefore, this issue will cover research on the application of different advanced oxidation processes, including but not limited to photocatalysis, photo-Fenton, activated persulfate , UV/H₂O₂, sonochemistry, ozonation and electrochemical oxidatiom as well as hybrid processes for (a) industrial wastewater treatment, (b) removal of micro-pollutants and emerging contaminants from water and wastewater, (c) air purification systems, (d) water disinfection (with particular emphasis on the fate of antibiotic resistance genres), and (e) energy (hydrogen production or CO₂ reduction) (f) Process modelling , hybrid processes and scaling up (pilot plant studies), Research on the synthesis and applications of smart catalytic materials for environmental applications is especially encouraged while we also welcome critical reviews

Dr. Frontistis Zacharias
Guest Editor

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Keywords

water and wastewater treatment
Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs)
photocatalysis
ozonation
photo fenton
sonochemistry
activated persulfate
electrochemical oxidation
emerging contaminants
disinfection
artificial neural network

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 1841 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sonoelectrochemical Degradation of Propyl Paraben: An Examination of the Synergy in Different Water Matrices

by Zacharias Frontistis

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(8), 2621; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082621 - 11 Apr 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2354

Abstract

The synergistic action of anodic oxidation using boron-doped diamond and low-frequency ultrasound in different water matrices and operating conditions for the decomposition of the emerging contaminant propyl paraben was investigated. The degree of synergy was found to decrease with an increase in current in the range 1.25–6.25 mA/cm² or the ultrasound power until 36 W/L, where a further decrease was observed. Despite the fact that the increased propyl paraben concentration decreased the observed kinetic constant for both the separated and the hybrid process, the degree of synergy was increased from 37.3 to 43.4% for 0.5 and 2 mg/L propyl paraben, respectively. Bicarbonates (100–250 mg/L) or humic acid (10–20 mg/L) enhanced the synergy significantly by up to 55.8%, due to the higher demand for reactive oxygen species. The presence of chloride ions decreased the observed synergistic action in comparison with ultrapure water, possibly due to the electro-generation of active chlorine that diffuses to the bulk solution. The same behavior was observed with the secondary effluent that contained almost 68 mg/L of chlorides. The efficiency was favored in a neutral medium, while the hybrid process was delayed in alkaline conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for Water Treatment)

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17 pages, 1586 KiB

Open AccessArticle

BP–ANN Model Coupled with Particle Swarm Optimization for the Efficient Prediction of 2-Chlorophenol Removal in an Electro-Oxidation System

by Yu Mei, Jiaqian Yang, Yin Lu, Feilin Hao, Dongmei Xu, Hua Pan and Jiade Wang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(14), 2454; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16142454 - 10 Jul 2019

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2749

Abstract

Electro-oxidation is an effective approach for the removal of 2-chlorophenol from wastewater. The modeling of the electrochemical process plays an important role in improving the efficiency of electrochemical treatment and increasing our understanding of electrochemical treatment without increasing the cost. The backpropagation artificial neural network (BP–ANN) model was applied to predict chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency and total energy consumption (TEC). Current density, pH, supporting electrolyte concentration, and oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) were used as input parameters in the 2-chlorophenol synthetic wastewater model. Prediction accuracy was increased by using particle swarm optimization coupled with BP–ANN to optimize weight and threshold values. The particle swarm optimization BP–ANN (PSO–BP–ANN) for the efficient prediction of COD removal efficiency and TEC for testing data showed high correlation coefficient of 0.99 and 0.9944 and a mean square error of 0.0015526 and 0.0023456. The weight matrix analysis indicated that the correlation of the five input parameters was a current density of 18.85%, an initial pH 21.11%, an electrolyte concentration 19.69%, an oxidation time of 21.30%, and an ORP of 19.05%. The analysis of removal kinetics indicated that oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) is closely correlated with the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total energy consumption (TEC) of the electro-oxidation degradation of 2-chlorophenol in wastewater. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for Water Treatment)

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15 pages, 3367 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ultrasound-Enhanced Catalytic Ozonation Oxidation of Ammonia in Aqueous Solution

by Chen Liu, Yunnen Chen, Caiqing He, Ruoyu Yin, Jun Liu and Tingsheng Qiu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(12), 2139; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122139 - 17 Jun 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2965

Abstract

Excessive ammonia is a common pollutant in the wastewater, which can cause eutrophication, poison aquatic life, reduce water quality and even threaten human health. Ammonia in aqueous solution was converted using various systems, i.e., ozonation (O₃), ultrasound (US), catalyst (SrO-Al₂O₃), ultrasonic ozonation (US/O₃), ultrasound-enhanced SrO-Al₂O₃ (SrO-Al₂O₃/US), SrO-Al₂O₃ ozonation (SrO-Al₂O₃/O₃) and ultrasound-enhanced SrO-Al₂O₃ ozonation (SrO-Al₂O₃/US/O₃) under the same experimental conditions. The results indicated that the combined SrO-Al₂O₃/US/O₃ process achieved the highest NH₄⁺ conversion rate due to the synergistic effect between US, SrO-Al₂O₃ and O₃. Additionally, the effect of different operational parameters on ammonia oxidation in SrO-Al₂O₃/O₃ and SrO-Al₂O₃/US/O₃ systems was evaluated. It was found that the ammonia conversion increased with the increase of pH value in both systems. The NH₃(aq) is oxidized by both O₃ and ·OH at high pH, whereas the NH₄⁺ oxidation is only carried out through ·OH at low pH. Compared with the SrO-Al₂O₃/O₃ system, the ammonia conversion was significantly increased, the reaction time was shortened, and the consumption of catalyst dosage and ozone were reduced in the SrO-Al₂O₃/US/O₃ system. Moreover, reasonable control of ultrasonic power and duty cycle can further improve the ammonia conversion rate. Under the optimal conditions, the ammonia conversion and gaseous nitrogen yield reached 83.2% and 51.8%, respectively. The presence of tert-butanol, CO₃²⁻, HCO₃⁻, and SO₄²⁻ inhibited the ammonia oxidation in the SrO-Al₂O₃/US/O₃ system. During ammonia conversion, SrO-Al₂O₃ catalyst not only has a certain adsorption effect on NH₄⁺ but accelerates the O₃ decomposition to ·OH. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for Water Treatment)

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16 pages, 1870 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Kinetic Evaluation of Dye Decolorization by Fenton Processes in the Presence of 3-Hydroxyanthranilic Acid

by Cássia Sidney Santana, Márcio Daniel Nicodemos Ramos, Camila Cristina Vieira Velloso and André Aguiar

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(9), 1602; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16091602 - 07 May 2019

Cited by 61 | Viewed by 4029

Abstract

The fungal metabolite 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid (3-HAA) was used as a redox mediator with the aim of increasing dye degradation by Fenton oxidative processes (Fe²⁺/H₂O₂, Fe³⁺/H₂O₂). Its Fe³⁺-reducing activity can enhance the generation of reactive oxygen species as HO^● radicals. Initially, the influence of 3-HAA on decolorization kinetics of five dyes (methylene blue, chromotrope 2R, methyl orange, phenol red, and safranin T) was investigated using decolorization data from a previous work conducted by the present research group. Fe³⁺-containing reaction data were well fitted with first-order and mainly second-order kinetic models, whereas the BMG (Behnajady, Modirshahla and Ghanbary) model obtained optimal fit to Fe²⁺. Improvements in kinetic parameters (i.e., apparent rate constants and maximum oxidation capacity) were observed with the addition of 3-HAA. In another set of experiments, a decrease in apparent activation energy was observed due to introducing 3-HAA into reactions containing either Fe²⁺ or Fe³⁺ in order to decolorize phenol red at different temperatures. This indicates that the redox mediator decreases the energy barrier so as to allow reactions to occur. Thus, based on recent experiments and the reaction kinetics models evaluated herein, pro-oxidant properties have been observed for 3-HAA in Fenton processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for Water Treatment)

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12 pages, 1431 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrooxidation Using Nb/BDD as Post-Treatment of a Reverse Osmosis Concentrate in the Petrochemical Industry

by Salatiel Wohlmuth da Silva, Carla Denize Venzke, Júlia Bitencourt Welter, Daniela Eduarda Schneider, Jane Zoppas Ferreira, Marco Antônio Siqueira Rodrigues and Andréa Moura Bernardes

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(5), 816; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16050816 - 06 Mar 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3370

Abstract

This work evaluated the performance of an electrochemical oxidation process (EOP), using boron-doped diamond on niobium substrate (Nb/BDD), for the treatment of a reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC) produced from a petrochemical wastewater. The effects of applied current density (5, 10, or 20 mA·cm⁻²) and oxidation time (0 to 5 h) were evaluated following changes in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC). Current efficiency and specific energy consumption were also evaluated. Besides, the organic byproducts generated by EOP were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The results show that current densities and oxidation time lead to a COD and TOC reduction. For the 20 mA·cm⁻², changes in the kinetic regime were found at 3 h and associated to the oxidation of inorganic ions by chlorinated species. After 3 h, the oxidants act in the organic oxidation, leading to a TOC removal of 71%. Although, due to the evolution of parallel reactions (O₂, H₂O_2, and O₃), the specific energy consumption also increased, the resulting consumption value of 66.5 kW·h·kg⁻¹ of COD is considered a low energy requirement representing lower treatment costs. These results encourage the applicability of EOP equipped with Nb/BDD as a treatment process for the ROC. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for Water Treatment)

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17 pages, 2469 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Removal of Paracetamol Using Effective Advanced Oxidation Processes

by Francesca Audino, Jorge Mario Toro Santamaria, Luis J. del Valle Mendoza, Moisès Graells and Montserrat Pérez-Moya

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(3), 505; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16030505 - 11 Feb 2019

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3927

Abstract

Fenton, photo-Fenton, and photo-induced oxidation, were investigated and compared for the treatment of 0.26 mmol L⁻¹ of paracetamol (PCT) in a deionised water matrix, during a reaction span of 120.0 min. Low and high Fenton reagent loads were studied. Particularly, the initial concentration of Fe²⁺ was varied between 0.09 and 0.18 mmol L⁻¹ while the initial concentration of H₂O₂ was varied between 2.78 and 11.12 mmol L⁻¹. The quantitative performance of these treatments was evaluated by: (i) measuring PCT concentration; (ii) measuring and modelling TOC conversion, as a means characterizing sample mineralization; and (iii) measuring cytotoxicity to assess the safe application of each treatment. In all cases, organic matter mineralization was always partial, but PCT concentration fell below the detection limit within 2.5 and 20.0 min. The adopted semi-empirical model revealed that photo induced oxidation is the only treatment attaining total organic matter mineralization (

ξ^{MAX} =

100% in 200.0 min) at the expense of the lowest kinetic constant (k = 0.007 min⁻¹). Conversely, photo-Fenton treatment using high Fenton reagent loads gave a compromise solution (

ξ^{MAX} =

73% and k = 0.032 min⁻¹). Finally, cytotoxicity assays proved the safe application of photo-induced oxidation and of photo-Fenton treatments using high concentrations of Fenton reagents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for Water Treatment)

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18 pages, 3531 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Degradation of Paracetamol by an UV/Chlorine Advanced Oxidation Process: Influencing Factors, Factorial Design, and Intermediates Identification

by Yen Hai Dao, Hai Nguyen Tran, Thien Thanh Tran-Lam, Trung Quoc Pham and Giang Truong Le

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(12), 2637; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122637 - 25 Nov 2018

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5655

Abstract

The combination of a low-pressure mercury lamp and chlorine (UV/chlorine) was applied as an emerging advanced oxidation process (AOP), to examine paracetamol (PRC) degradation under different operational conditions. The results indicated that the UV/chlorine process exhibited a much faster PRC removal than the UV/H₂O₂ process or chlorination alone because of the great contribution of highly reactive species (^•OH, ^•Cl, and ClO^•). The PRC degradation rate constant (k_obs) was accurately determined by pseudo-first-order kinetics. The k_obs values were strongly affected by the operational conditions, such as chlorine dosage, solution pH, UV intensity, and coexisting natural organic matter. Response surface methodology was used for the optimization of four independent variables (NaOCl, UV, pH, and DOM). A mathematical model was established to predict and optimize the operational conditions for PRC removal in the UV/chlorine process. The main transformation products (twenty compound structures) were detected by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for Water Treatment)

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16 pages, 2515 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Degradation of the Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Piroxicam by Iron Activated Persulfate: The Role of Water Matrix and Ultrasound Synergy

by Zacharias Frontistis

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(11), 2600; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112600 - 21 Nov 2018

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4046

Abstract

This work examined the oxidation of Piroxicam (PIR), a representative nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug using iron activated persulfate. The effect of persulfate dosing was vital for the efficiency of the process. The addition of 20 mg/L sodium persulfate (SPS) eliminated 500 μg/L of PIR in less than 20 min at natural pH. PIR decomposition followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the observed kinetic constant increased by 2.1 times when the initial concentration of PIR decreased from 2000 to 250 μg/L. Acidic pH favored the PIR destruction, while both sulfate and hydroxyl radicals are involved in PIR destruction at natural pH. The effect of inorganic ions like bicarbonate and chlorides was almost insignificant on PIR removal. The presence of humic acid reduced PIR removal from 100% to 67% after 20 min of treatment with 2 mg/L Fe²⁺ and 20 mg/L SPS. The experiment that was performed with bottled water showed similar efficiency with ultrapure water, while in the case of secondary effluent, PIR removal decreased by 26% after 30 min of treatment. The Fe²⁺/SPS/ultrasound hybrid process showed a low degree of synergy (18.3%). The ecotoxicity of aqueous solution using the Vibrio fischeri as an indicator was reduced during the treatment, although with a different trend from the removal of PIR, possibly due to byproducts derived from the oxidation of secondary effluent and PIR. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for Water Treatment)

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15 pages, 7777 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication of Surfactant-Enhanced Metal Oxides Catalyst for Catalytic Ozonation Ammonia in Water

by Chen Liu, Yunnen Chen, Lin Guo and Chang Li

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(8), 1654; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15081654 - 03 Aug 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3454

Abstract

The new surfactant-enhanced metal oxides composite catalysts have been prepared using solid state method and characterized by the N₂-adsorption-desorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Catalytic activity of the synthesized powders has been investigated in the liquid-phase catalytic ozonation ammonia nitrogen (NH₄⁺) (50 mg/L). Especially, the effect of parameters such as optimum molar ratio for metal salt, NaOH and surfactants, temperature, and time of calcinations was also considered. Leveraging both high catalytic activity in NH₄⁺ degradation and more harmless selectivity for gaseous nitrogen, the CTAB/NiO catalyst is the best among 24 tested catalysts, which was generated by calcining NiCl₂·6H₂O, NaOH, and CTAB under the molar ratio 1:2.1:0.155 at 300 °C for 2 h. With CTAB/NiO, NH₄⁺ removal rate was 95.93% and gaseous nitrogen selectivity was 80.98%, under the conditions of a pH of 9, ozone flow of 12 mg/min, dosage of catalyst 1.0 g/L, reaction time 120 min, and magnetic stirring speed 600 r/min in room temperature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for Water Treatment)

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Review

Jump to: Research

27 pages, 2006 KiB

Open AccessReview

Catalytic Oxidation Process for the Degradation of Synthetic Dyes: An Overview

by Rahat Javaid and Umair Yaqub Qazi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(11), 2066; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16112066 - 11 Jun 2019

Cited by 233 | Viewed by 9416

Abstract

Dyes are used in various industries as coloring agents. The discharge of dyes, specifically synthetic dyes, in wastewater represents a serious environmental problem and causes public health concerns. The implementation of regulations for wastewater discharge has forced research towards either the development of new processes or the improvement of available techniques to attain efficient degradation of dyes. Catalytic oxidation is one of the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), based on the active radicals produced during the reaction in the presence of a catalyst. This paper reviews the problems of dyes and hydroxyl radical-based oxidation processes, including Fenton’s process, non-iron metal catalysts, and the application of thin metal catalyst-coated tubular reactors in detail. In addition, the sulfate radical-based catalytic oxidation technique has also been described. This study also includes the effects of various operating parameters such as pH, temperature, the concentration of the oxidant, the initial concentration of dyes, and reaction time on the catalytic decomposition of dyes. Moreover, this paper analyzes the recent studies on catalytic oxidation processes. From the present study, it can be concluded that catalytic oxidation processes are very active and environmentally friendly methods for dye removal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for Water Treatment)

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