Photoelectrocatalytic Oxidation of Textile Dye Effluent: Modeling Using Response Surface Methodology

The present article reports the treatment of procion blue dye effluent using a thin-film photoelectrocatalytic novel reactor. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to design the experiments, and the optimum operating parameters were determined for chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and energy consumption. Operating parameters such as initial effluent concentration, applied charge, and lamp wattage were selected. The COD removal and energy required for treatment were optimized using RSM, and a regression equation was developed for COD removal and energy consumption for a photoelectrocatalytic process. The present study concludes that the power consumption for the process can be optimized using RSM and that RSM is a good tool for studying combined variables and interaction effects on the response of a process.