Treatment of Emerging Water Pollutants by Fenton and Modified Fenton Processes

Abstract

The Fenton and modified Fenton oxidation processes are the most widely used and eco-friendly advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). These processes have the potential to treat emerging water pollutants effectively. The generation of iron (Fe) sludge is one of the limitations among various shortcomings of the basic Fenton process, which reduces the process’s efficiency. Therefore, some modifications have been carried out in the basic Fenton process. Those modified processes are photo-Fenton, electro-Fenton, and heterogeneous Fenton. The degradation, mineralization, and decolorization efficiencies are significantly enhanced in the modified Fenton processes compared to the Fenton process. AOPs are mainly based on the production of hydroxyl (●OH) radicals in treating wastewater. In modified Fenton processes, the process of generating ●OH radicals differs from using Fenton’s reagent. This chapter discusses the fundamentals, complete mechanisms, and practical uses of the Fenton process, heterogeneous Fenton process, photo-Fenton process, and electro-Fenton process. Moreover, the discussion also extends to integrating these AOPs with other biological or chemical processes.