Chapter 11 - Treatment of petroleum wastewater using solar power-based photocatalysis

Abstract

Large quantities of effluents containing oil, water, and oily sludge are produced from the activities and processes in the petroleum industry. The amount of waste in this industry is growing daily with increasing demands. This wastewater includes large amounts of organic and inorganic pollutants that Draining of these effluents pollutes the environment. These contaminants also damage the human and living organism’s health. The acceptable refining of oily wastewater is a current challenge to the petroleum industry. Using solar-based photocatalysis as a new, cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and highly effective process to treat petroleum wastewater is a smart way. This chapter explores the performance of photocatalysis oxidation methods for the treatment of petroleum refinery wastewater. Also, the petroleum wastewater sources and their characteristics are discussed. The influence factors, benefits, and negative aspects of using photocatalysis for this aim are mentioned processes.