Review Recent developments in photocatalytic water treatment technology: A review Meng Nan Chong a,b , Bo Jin a,b,c, *, Christopher W.K. Chow c , Chris Saint c a School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, 5005 Adelaide, Australia b School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia c Australian Water Quality Centre, SA Water Corporation, 5000 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia article info Article history: Received 21 September 2009 Received in revised form 26 February 2010 Accepted 27 February 2010 Available online 18 March 2010 Keywords: TiO 2 Photocatalysis Water treatment Photocatalytic reactors Kinetic modelling Water qualities Life cycle analysis Mineralization Disinfection abstract In recent years, semiconductor photocatalytic process has shown a great potential as a low-cost, environmental friendly and sustainable treatment technology to align with the “zero” waste scheme in the water/wastewater industry. The ability of this advanced oxidation technology has been widely demonstrated to remove persistent organic compounds and microorganisms in water. At present, the main technical barriers that impede its commercialisation remained on the post-recovery of the catalyst particles after water treatment. This paper reviews the recent R&D progresses of engineered-photocatalysts, photo- reactor systems, and the process optimizations and modellings of the photooxidation processes for water treatment. A number of potential and commercial photocatalytic reactor configurations are discussed, in particular the photocatalytic membrane reactors. The effects of key photoreactor operation parameters and water quality on the photo-process performances in terms of the mineralization and disinfection are assessed. For the first time, we describe how to utilize a multi-variables optimization approach to determine the optimum operation parameters so as to enhance process performance and photooxidation efficiency. Both photomineralization and photo-disinfection kinetics and their modellings associated with the photocatalytic water treatment process are detailed. A brief discussion on the life cycle assessment for retrofitting the photocatalytic technology as an alternative waste treatment process is presented. This paper will deliver a scientific and technical overview and useful information to scientists and engineers who work in this field. ª 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 2998 2. Fundamentals and mechanism of TiO 2 photocatalysis ........................................................ 2999 2.1. Heterogeneous TiO 2 photocatalysis .................................................................... 2999 2.2. Homogeneous photo-Fenton reaction ................................................................. 3001 * Corresponding author at: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia. Tel.: þ61 8 8303 7056; fax: þ61 8 8303 6222. E-mail address: bo.jin@adelaide.edu.au (B. Jin). Available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/watres water research 44 (2010) 2997 e3027 0043-1354/$ e see front matter ª 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2010.02.039