Solar photocatalysis: a clean process for water detoxification

The photocatalytic degradation of various toxic organic compounds has been proposed as a viable process to detoxify drinking water. Irradiating pulverulent semi-conductors like TiO2 in suspension or fixed to various supports in aqueous solutions containing organic pollutants, creates a redox environment able to destroy these pollutants. Solar photocatalytic mineralization of organic water pollutants has a strong potential in the industrial destruction of toxic organics in water as this has been widely demonstrated in recent years. and the applications and target compounds are numerous. The aim of this paper is to present the basic principle of the photocatalysis and especially to show the various applications of the solar photocatalysis in the field of the decontamination of wastewater. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.