Activated Carbon-Based Photocatalysts for the Removal of Pesticides
Peyman Ghorbani, Aydin Hassani, Paria Eghbali, Alireza Abbasi
Abstract
Excessive use of pesticides in agriculture and other activities can increase the amount of pesticides in different parts of the environment. This can harm the ecosystem and human health. Therefore, it’s important to remove pesticides from wastewater and natural water sources. Advanced methods for treating wastewater are being developed and used to remove pesticide contaminants effectively. Photocatalytic processes are a new type of chemical method that generates hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and other reactive oxygen species (ROS) with high oxidation potential. Activated carbon (AC) is another emerging catalyst for removing pesticides from water and wastewater. It has desirable properties like high specific surface area, porosity, environmental friendliness, cost competitiveness, and nontoxicity. This chapter reviews recent progress in the application of AC-based photocatalysts for degrading pesticides from wastewater. It also highlights the use of persulfate activation to intensify photocatalysis for pesticide elimination. Lastly, it covers future perspectives and potential developments in this field. We hope this chapter inspires further research into using AC-based photocatalysts for removing pesticides from water sources.