Wastewater Treatment Technologies. A Chapter in Inorganic-Organic Composites for Water and Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

Access to sustainable drinking water remains a serious challenge both in rural and urban areas due to population explosion, pollution of various water systems through natural and anthropogenic activities such as industrial activities, agricultural practices, urbanisation among others. Although, water and wastewater treatment was early discovered in history, however, took several years before people understood that adequate judgement for quality water is not by human sense. The earliest water treatment includes filtration and removal of pathogens carriers of typhoid, cholera and dysentery among other diseases. Different treatment techniques such as membranes filtration technologies, thermal technologies, biological aerated filter technologies, advanced oxidation technologies are available for the mitigation of organic, inorganic, heavy metals,microorganism, suspended solids and emerging persistent pollutants from water. This chapter review different technological of advanced oxidation processes wastewater technologies especially their efficiencies, cost implications, durability among others. Of all the advanced oxidation processes, photoelectrocatalysis has been found more suitable for the treatment of wastewater than conventional methods.