Photo-Fenton applied to the removal of pharmaceutical and other pollutants of emerging concern

Application of photo-Fenton for wastewater reuse is a hot-topic research activity for defining alternative water sources. In sunny water-stressed countries, solar irradiation is under study as a sustainable pollution-free energy source for powering photo-Fenton water treatment. In solar photo-Fenton, water containing iron and H2O2 is irradiated to promote generation of hydroxyl radicals, which can degrade pharmaceuticals and other pollutants of emerging concern. As homogeneous photoFenton has several disadvantages, such as its narrow pH operating range compared with other well-studied AOPs, photo-Fenton-like processes working at circumneutral pH have been widely investigated. Heterogeneous photo-Fenton is considered effective because of its wide working pH range and cyclability. Nevertheless, design of efficient heterogeneous catalysts remains the major challenge. This article discusses key photo-Fenton parameters as well as its limitations and future perspectives for real implementation.