Phenolic compounds are priority pollutants with high toxicity even at low concentrations. In this review, the efficiency of both conventional and advanced treatment methods is discussed. The applicability of these treatments with phenol and some common derivatives is compared. Conventional treatments such as distillation, absorption, extraction, chemical oxidation, and electrochemical oxidation show high efficiencies with various phenolic compounds, while advanced treatments such as Fenton processes, ozonation, wet air oxidation, and photochemical treatment use less chemicals compared to the conventional ones but have high energy costs. Compared to physico-chemical treatment, biological treatment is environmentally friendly and energy saving, but it cannot treat high concentration pollutants. Enzymatic treatment has proven to be the best way to treat various phenolic compounds under mild conditions with different enzymes such as peroxidases, laccases, and tyrosinases. This review covers papers from 2013 through January 2016.

/pdf/a-short-review-of-techniques-for-phenol-removal-from-2iihuqdwlr.pdf

A Short Review of Techniques for Phenol Removal from Wastewater

In this work, the application of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for the removal of antibiotics from water has been reviewed. The present concern about water has been exposed, and the main problems derived from the presence of emerging pollutants have been analyzed. Photolysis processes, ozone-based AOPs including ozonation, O3/UV, O3/H2O2, and O3/H2O2/UV, hydrogen peroxide-based methods (i.e., H2O2/UV, Fenton, Fenton-like, hetero-Fenton, and photo-Fenton), heterogeneous photocatalysis (TiO2/UV and TiO2/H2O2/UV systems), and sonochemical and electrooxidative AOPs have been reviewed. The main challenges and prospects of AOPs, as well as some recommendations for the improvement of AOPs aimed at the removal of antibiotics from wastewaters, are pointed out.

Advanced Oxidation Processes for the Removal of Antibiotics from Water. An Overview

Conductive diamond possesses unique features as compared to other solid electrodes, such as a wide electrochemical potential window, a low and stable background current, relatively rapid rates of electron-transfer for soluble redox systems without conventional pretreatment, long-term responses, stability, biocompatibility, and a rich surface chemistry. Conductive diamond microcrystalline and nanocrystalline films, structures and particles have been prepared using a variety of approaches. Given these highly desirable attributes, conductive diamond has found extensive use as an enabling electrode across a variety of fields encompassing chemical and biochemical sensing, environmental degradation, electrosynthesis, electrocatalysis, and energy storage and conversion. This review provides an overview of the fundamental properties and highlights recent progress and achievements in the growth of boron-doped (metal-like) and nitrogen and phosphorus-doped (semi-conducting) diamond and hydrogen-terminated undoped diamond electrodes. Applications in electroanalysis, environmental degradation, electrosynthesis electrocatalysis, and electrochemical energy storage are also discussed. Diamond electrochemical devices utilizing micro-scale, ultramicro-scale, and nano-scale electrodes as well as their counterpart arrays are viewed. The challenges and future research directions of conductive diamond are discussed and outlined. This review will be important and informative for chemists, biochemists, physicists, materials scientists, and engineers engaged in the use of these novel forms of carbon.

Conductive diamond: synthesis, properties, and electrochemical applications

Research developments in environmental electrochemistry and their potential to contribute to a cleaner environment are reviewed here for wastewater treatment applications. Most environmental pollutants can be successfully eliminated or converted to non-toxic materials by one or more processes, including electrochemical oxidation, electrochemical reduction, electrocoagulation and electrocoagulation/flotation, electrodialysis, and electrochemical advanced oxidation processes. Specific examples of applications for pollutant removal and reclamation of wastewater are given for the different processes, along with research needs and improvements for commercial application of these electrochemical processes.

Mohamed Salah Allagui

Papers

Anodic oxidation of o-nitrophenol on BDD electrode: variable effects and mechanisms of degradation

Anodic oxidation of nitrobenzene on BDD electrode: Variable effects and mechanisms of degradation