Solar photo-Fenton optimisation in treating carbofuran-contaminated water

Abstract

Box-Benkhen design response-surface methodology was developed to optimise photo-Fenton degradation of carbofuran (C12H15NO3) by using a compound parabolic collector pilot plant. The four variables considered in Box-Benkhen design model included carbofuran degradation percentage, initial carbofuran concentration, hydrogen peroxide [H2O2] concentration and iron [Fe2+] concentration. Degradation was monitored by using total organic carbon concentration and highperformance liquid chromatography. A 93.2 mg l-1 carbofuran concentration was completely degraded in t30W = 15 min with 17.1 mg l-1 Fe2+ and 121.6 mg l-1 H2O2. Photo-Fenton degradation led to 76.7% mineralisation. Biodegradability during optimisation was evaluated by using the BOD5/COD ratio; this value increased from 0.04 at the beginning of the process to 0.52 in t30W = 20 min, thereby showing the effectiveness of using biological treatments.