Sulfate Radical-Based Advanced Oxidation Processes
Professor Dionysios (Dion) D. Dionysiou
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221-0071
* Email: dionysios.d.dionysiou@uc.edu, Tel.: 513-556-0724, Fax: 513-556-2599
This invited presentation will provide an overview of experience developed in Dionysiou’s group
and collaborations on the development and related mechanistic aspects of sulfate radical-based
advanced oxidation technologies (SR-AOTs) for the destruction of environmentally toxic
chemicals in wastewater, industrial wastewater, groundwater and sources of water supply. The
paper will include fundamental aspects of the generation and reactivity of sulfate radicals for the
oxidation of various organic contaminants in homogeneous systems as well as sulfate radical
attack (SRA) in heterogeneous systems. Details will be provided with respect to (i) various
methods for generating sulfate radicals from persulfate or peroxymonosulfate including UVbased activation, thermal activation, and activation by transition metals in homogeneous
solutions, (ii) heterogeneous activation using transition metals immobilized on ceramic supports,
(iii) environmentally friendly systems using chelating agents based on SRA for the destruction of
polychlorinated biphenyls in sediment water and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, (iv)
mechanism of sulfate radical attack on phenolic compounds and reaction intermediates, (v)
evaluation of SRA systems for disinfection in swimming pools, and (vi) mechanism and
intermediates of SRA and comparison with hydroxyl radical attack for the destruction of
cyanobacterial toxins.