A central composite design for the optimization of the removal of the azo dye, Methyl Orange, from waste water using the Fenton reaction

Abstract

In this study the degradation of Methyl Orange, using Fenton reaction was studied and optimized using central composite design as a response surface methodology. The effects of various experimental parameters in this reaction were investigated using the central composite design. 28 experiments, with 4 factors and 5 levels for each factor were designed. These factors (or variables) were: the initial concentration of Fe(II), the initial concentration of H 2O 2, the initial concentration of oxalate and the reaction time. A full-quadratic polynomial equation between the percentage of dye degradation (as the response) and the studied parameters was established. After removing the nonsignificant variables from the model, response surface method was used to obtain the optimum conditions. The optimum ranges of variables were: 0.25-0.35 mM for the initial concentration of Fe(II), 5-17 mM for the initial concentration of H 2O 2, 4-9 mM for the initial concentration of oxalate, and 50-80 min for the reaction time. In addition, the results of extra experiments showed that these optimized values can be used for real samples and lead to a high value for the response. Copyright 2012 (CC) SCS.