Improving Formaldehyde Removal from Water and Wastewater by Fenton, Photo-Fenton and Ozonation/Fenton Processes through Optimization and Modeling

Abstract

This study aimed to assess, optimize and model the efficiencies of Fenton, photo-Fenton and ozonation/Fenton processes in formaldehyde elimination from water and wastewater using the response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN). A sensitivity analysis was used to determine the importance of the independent variables. The influences of different variables, including H2O2 concentration, initial formaldehyde concentration, Fe dosage, pH, contact time, UV and ozonation, on formaldehyde removal efficiency were studied. The optimized Fenton process demonstrated 75% formaldehyde removal from water. The best performance with 80% formaldehyde removal from wastewater was achieved using the combined ozonation/Fenton process. The developed ANN model demonstrated better adequacy and goodness of fit with a R2 of 0.9454 than the RSM model with a R2 of 0. 9186. The sensitivity analysis showed pH as the most important factor (31%) affecting the Fenton process, followed by the H2O2 concentration (23%), Fe dosage (21%), contact time (14%) and formaldehyde concentration (12%). The findings demonstrated that these treatment processes and models are important tools for formaldehyde elimination from wastewater.

Response surface methodology for process optimization in livestock wastewater treatment: A review

“…This can help identify critical factors that significantly impact the performance of LWW treatment processes and to further understand robustness of the optimization results under uncertain conditions. Sensitivity analysis of input parameters on target response(s) can be assessed using Pareto analysis and relative contribution in the context of RSM [ 180 , 181 ]. In short, a sensitivity analysis can provide insights into the reliability and robustness of RSM-based optimization results and guide decision-making.…”

Fenton: A Systematic Review of Its Application in Wastewater Treatment

“…Other techniques used for removing pollutants included electro-Fenton (EF) [10,62], photo-Fenton (Fe 2+ /UV/H 2 O 2 ) [63,64], post-biological treatment, pretreatment for subsequent physical-chemical treatment, ozonolysis (UV/O 3 ), photocatalysis (TiO 2 /UV/H 2 O 2 ), photolysis (UV/H 2 O 2 ), catalysis, UV treatment, electrocoagulation, chemical coagulation, and membranes. The removal rate was increased when the Fenton process was combined with another chemical degradation technique [65].…”