Optimization of two-chamber photo electro Fenton reactor for the treatment of winery wastewater

The treatment of winery wastewater is necessary since it constitutes an environmental problem due to its high organic content and chemical oxygen demand and its low pH. However, these characteristics hinder the use of conventional technologies commonly utilized for the treatment of effluents. Therefore, new technologies for the management of this type of wastewater are required. In this sense, the photo electro Fenton process (PEF) was proposed as a good alternative because of the synergetic effect among Fenton, electrolysis and photolysis processes. In this study, the development of a new double chamber cubic reactor for the treatment of winery wastewater using PEF was performed. Surface response methodology was applied based on Box-Behnken design to define the best operational conditions. The selected key variables were voltage, distance between electrodes and the organic load of the effluent. Among the parameters optimized, distance between electrodes and voltage were identified as significant in the model. Under the optimized conditions the treatment of real winery wastewater was efficiently carried out. Finally, it can be concluded that the configuration of this reactor is suitable for the remediation of this type of effluents. (C) 2015 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.