A Review of Municipal Wastewater Disinfection using Advanced Oxidation Processes

Microbial pathogenic microorganisms in wastewater have globally presented a substantial public health concern. The mainly applied conventional disinfection techniques are usually not able to achieve complete disinfection of bacteria in municipal wastewater. As a result, strategies for wastewater treatment and the development of next-generation water supply systems are needed. Although chlorination is the most used disinfection system, it presents various demerits such as the high doses required and the production of toxic by-products (trihalomethanes) that are harmful to human health. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPS) are being given a lot of attention for adequate disinfection. Compared with other conventional techniques, advanced oxidation processes have the characteristics of high oxidation efficiency and are environmentally friendly. However, a lot has to be done to optimize these processes for bulk wastewater disinfection. The scope of this review summarizes the current research findings on the application, performance and mechanisms of various AOPs for disinfection of wastewater. Furthermore, the basic principles of hybrid AOPs used to accelerate the oxidation efficiency of pathogenic pollutants are reviewed. Finally, the conclusion was that the main direction in the future of AOPs is the modification of the catalysts, coupled systems, and optimization of operating parameters which will ultimately translate to improved disinfection of wastewater.