A review of approaches to atrazine treatment employing advanced oxidation processes technologies

Atrazine is a synthetic pesticide widely used in many crops. It is considered a contaminant to soil and water, and due to its leaching and recalcitrant capacities, new treatment technologies have been developed for its removal, with an emphasis on advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), since conventional wastewater treatments show reduced capacity to remove persistent organic pollutants. This article provides a literature review of the main AOP approaches, such as photolysis, ozonation, photoperoxidation, fenton and photo-fenton, photocatalysis, and electrochemical processes, for the atrazine treatment and the fundamentals behind each process. In addition, the innovations and applications of hybrid AOP systems were documented. It is worth mentioning that despite the high efficiency obtained by AOPs in the degradation of ATZ, it is important to evaluate the resulting toxicity and by-products formed, as well as the costs associated with the application of these processes.