Response surface methodology for electro-fentos process optimization

Abstract

The textile industry produces large quantities of colored wastewater that contain high levels of organic matter and salts. Several technologies have shown to be effective to the treatment of colored wastewater treatment, among them, Electro- Fenton is offering significant advantages and high efficiency in pollutants removal. The aim of this work was to improve the ability of Electro-Fenton technique for the remediation of wastewater contaminated with synthetic dyes. For this purpose, the central composite design based on the response surface methodology was employed to investigate the influence of the working conditions on the Electro-Fenton decoloration of Azure B. Four operational parameters including dye concentration, electrode surface area, treatment time and voltage were evaluated. Individual and interactive effects of the four main independent parameters were evaluated. ANOVA analysis showed high coefficient of determination value (R2=0.9835) and reasonable prediction second-order regression. The optimized operation parameters were dye concentration 4.83 mg/L, electrode surface area 15 cm2, voltage 14.19 V, and treatment time of 34.58 min. Near complete decoloration was achieved operating in the conditions described previously. Moreover, the obtained standard deviation was lower than 3% in relation to the model predicted values.