Photocatalytic treatment of detergent-contaminated wastewater: A short review on current progress

Detergents are emerging contaminants in water that require immediate attention due to their widespread use industrially and domestically. However, review articles on detergent treatment methods are not readily available in the literature as this topic is often overlooked. Various oxidation techniques have been applied to eliminate surfactants from the effluents completely. The photocatalytic treatment method is one of the most promising environmental-friendly oxidation technologies to degrade organic pollutants. Photocatalysis using TiO2 as a catalyst shows outstanding properties, including excellent thermal and chemical stability, nontoxicity, and high photocatalytic degradation ability towards most of the organic compounds present in the wastewater. This paper reviews the research on photocatalytic degradation of detergent contaminated wastewater and the parameters that affect the semiconductor’s photocatalytic activity. Lastly, critical remarks are also presented on the photodegradation treatment of laundry detergent wastewater, the economic feasibility of photodegradation treatment on an industrial scale, and suggestions for future work.