Nanomaterial-based advanced oxidation processes for PAH remediation in water: Implications for post-wildfire contamination

초록

The frequency and intensity of wildfires have increased due to recent climate changes, leading to significant environmental challenges, particularly concerning water quality. Wildfires release a variety of pollutants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), into terrestrial and aquatic environments, posing substantial health risks due to their toxic and carcinogenic nature. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), which utilize highly reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydroxyl radicals, offer a promising solution for the degradation of organic pollutants like PAHs in both solid and aqueous phases. However, while a vast body of literature characterizes nanomaterial-based AOPs for broad PAH remediation, available scientific studies do not explicitly or directly discuss the application of these advanced processes to post-wildfire aquatic matrices. This review provides a vital, foundational synthesis of these disparate fields. It bridges the critical knowledge gap between raw nanomaterial performance data and the severe environmental challenges unique to post-wildfire waters, such as extreme turbidity, radical scavenging by dissolved organic carbon, shifting pH levels, and changes in temperature. By systematically evaluating recent nanomaterial developments alongside post-fire water quality perturbations, this work serves as an essential guide and inspiration for future environmental engineering research toward scalable, ecologically sound, and real-world water remediation in fire-prone regions. Overall, the lack of wildfire-specific studies represents a critical research gap that could be utilized for further in depth research allowing future practical implementations. © 2026 The Authors

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