Advanced Oxidation Processes and Their Application in the Petroleum Industry: a Review

Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) are technologies based on the generation of highly reactive species, the hydroxyl radicals, used in oxidative degradation procedures for organic compounds dissolved or dispersed in aquatic media. These processes are promising alternatives for decontamination of media containing dissolved recalcitrant organic substances, which would not be efficiently removed by conventional methods. The present paper describes a series of AOP, analyzing the aspects related to each type of process, such as the interference of external agents and the ideal operating conditions, based on the analysis and comparison of different studies in the area. In addition, several applied AOP studies on treatment of oil wastewater and on remediation of soil contaminated with oil or its derivatives are presented.