Recent Monitored Factors and Reactor’s Configuration for Enhancing Contamination Treatment by Photo-Electro-Catalysis Process

Photo-electro-catalysis process has received major attention in the past decade as a substitutional wastewater treatment technology. Photo-electro-catalysis process is widely employed for removing different pollutants (organic, and inorganic (cationic and anionic)) from wastewater. It has been recently developed by modifying the photo-reactor system, the experimental parameters, and the structure of photo-anodes during preparation to enhance the pollutants removal from wastewater, reduce their adverse health risk resulting from environmental accumulation, and give a chance to reuse the treated wastewater for a variety of applications. This review aims to summarize recent studies (especially in the last five years) that developed the photo-electro-catalytic degradation system of organic, heavy metal, and mixed pollutants under UV light, visible light, and sunlight. This review demonstrates the effect of experimental variables, photo-reactor arrangements, mass transfer, phase, length, and diameter of nanoparticles or tubes on the anode, type of deposition on the anode, and cathode characteristics (type and dimensions) on the photo-electro-catalytic technologies. The drawbacks of photo-catalysts, affecting the photo-electro-catalytic properties, are also discussed and solved. Finally, the review focuses on the photo-electro-catalysis enhancements by combining this process with other proven treatment processes. This review can provide perspectives on the important factors that evolve photo-electro-catalysis for the complete purification of polluted wastewater in the future.