Chlorine dioxide use to oxidate and remove pesticides and pharmaceuticals from water

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the reactivity, mechanism and toxicity assessment of pesticides and pharmaceuticals by chlorine dioxide (ClO2). ClO2 has been successfully employed as disinfectant in water treatment systems due to its antibacterial and antiviral characteristics. Also, ClO2 can be used as an alternative to chlorine, compared with which, it effectively reduces the amount of chlorinated products. As a powerful oxidant, ClO2 can remove effectively many organic and inorganic pollutants from water. Anthropogenic influences on groundwater (mining, industrial, agricultural and urbanization activities, and/or climate change) can affect water quality by production of different contaminants. The quality of surface water is critical because of the importance of raw water quality for all forms of life. Considering the increasing application of ClO2 in water treatment, it is very important to investigate the reactions of ClO2 with the most extensively consumed pharmaceutical drugs and pesticides, which are regularly detected in surface water. Oxidative degradation via ClO2 of pharmaceutical contaminants and pesticides from water solutions is presented. Pollutants on which ClO2 has high or low degradation efficiency are highlighted. The recent developments on the effects of organic substances on pollutant degradation in surface water are addressed. Future trends in pollution degradation using ClO2 are also discussed.