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Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW                                                         2  of  37




        of NTP treatment. PFAS had been mineralized with OM using NTP technology to achieve high degradation       287

        rates. This shows that the dissolved OM can compete with reactive species produced by NTP, slowing down     288

        their overall rate of transition into other pollutants. Previous research on the relationship between pH and     289

        PFAS  decomposition  reveals  various  outcomes.  Some  studies  have  shown  that  in  acidic  circumstances,     290

        oxidative species production led to more effective responses. Additionally, the treatment of PFAS with plasma     291

        results in acidic treated water; hence, the ensuing low pH must be corrected before use. Finally, the mechanism     292

        by which the plasma technique mineralizes PFAS is yet unknown, and various route ideas on its process are     293

        employed in the literature. It is frequently noted that shorter-chain PFAS develop. The experimental settings     294

        determine  the  conversion  rate  and  the  type  of  by-products  that  are  produced  [75].  As  a  result,  outdoor     295

        demonstration tests are only possible with small-scale reactors.                                             296

        3.6 Photocatalysis                                                                                           297

        Photocatalysis is a process in which a material is activated when a photon is absorbed in the presence of a     298

        photocatalyst, speeding up the destruction reaction. Generally, these photocatalysts are semiconductors. Due     299

        to their uses in solar energy conversion and environmental purification, photocatalyst usage has increased.     300


        They may also be used to clean up organic pollutants in the air and water [81]. As an advanced oxidation     301
        process  (AOP),  photocatalysis  technology  may  be  used  to  oxidise  a  variety  of  organic  pollutants.     302


        Heterogeneous photocatalytic materials have demonstrated broad applicability due to their effectiveness in     303

        degrading recalcitrant organic compounds, which are similar to PFASs in their characteristics [81]. These     304

        catalysts include Fe2O, ZnO, Ga2O3, TiO2, In2O3, and CdS, to name a few. Presently, titanium dioxide (TiO2)     305

        is a compound that has been extensively experimented with because of its application in degrading organic     306

        pollutants and achieving satisfactory mineralization at a relatively lower cost compared to other technologies     307
        [82].                                                                                                        308


              It  is  difficult  to  break  the  Carbon-Fluorine  bond  by  direct  photolysis,  however  photodegradation     309

        is offered over a broad range of wavelengths [83, 84]. However, when photocatalysts absorb light energy,     310

        it produces negatively charged electrons and positively charged hole pairs, which migrate to the surface and     311

        react with the absorbed PFAS [85]. The first cycle, as seen in the cycle, eliminates two fluorine atoms and one     312

        carbon atom; after that, it will keep shortening the chain until the PFAS molecule is completely broken down.     313

        It was found that adding carbon materials expands the photocatalysts' range of absorbable frequencies, making     314
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