| Abstract: | The cost of remediation at hazardous waste sites is estimated at billions of dollars annually. It is imperative that more cost‐effective remediation technologies be developed, particularly to address the more complex megasites. Chlorinated hydrocarbons represent the major contaminants at many such sites. It has long been recognized that chlorinated hydrocarbons can be destroyed by photocatalytic oxidation. Traditional photocatalysts, however, have often shown inadequate destruction activity, a loss of activity over time, and poor selectivity, thereby producing substantial amounts of phosgene and chloroform by‐products. This article presents results obtained using novel photocatalyst compositions. The results demonstrate the ability to achieve high photocatalytic destruction activity for chlorinated hydrocarbons with full retention of activity over extended time periods and with complete elimination of phosgene and chloroform by‐products. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
