Sonochemistry in environmental remediation. 1. Combinative and hybrid sonophotochemical oxidation processes for the treatment of pollutants in water

Sonoprocessing is the utilization of sonic and ultrasonic waves in chemical synthesis and processes. It is a new and rapidly growing research field with broad applications in environmental engineering, green chemical synthesis, and processing. The application of this environmentally benign technique in environmental remediation is currently under active research and development. Sonochemical oxidation is effective in treating toxic effluents and reducing toxicity. However, the ultrasonic treatment is highly energy intensive since sonication is relatively inefficient with respect to total input energy and is therefore not economically attractive or feasible alone. Hence, sonochemistry has not yet received much attention as an alternative for industrial and large-scale chemical and environmental processes. One of the most interesting topics in the recent advances in sonochemistry is the possibility of double or more excitations with ultrasound and other types of energy. The coupling of ultrasound with other free energy sources (i.e., UV) or chemical oxidation utilizing H₂O₂, O₃, or ferrous ion presents interesting and attractive approaches. Therefore, many recent efforts have been devoted to improving the efficiency of sonochemical reactions by exploiting the advantages of combinative or hybrid processes involving the simultaneous or sequential use of ultrasonic irradiation and other advanced oxidation processes, electrochemical processes, and biological treatment. This paper provides a critical review of the applications of ultrasound in environmental remediation, focusing on recent developments and unifying analysis of combinative or hybrid systems, namely, sonophotochemical oxidation processes.