A comprehensive investigation of effective parameters in photocatalytic treatment of wastewater by RSM

Using metal oxide nanoparticles in photocatalytic process is known as a novel and promising method for wastewater treatment. In this paper, a comprehensive investigation was conducted to study the role of effective parameters such as UV light intensity, retention time, pH, and dosage of nanoparticles in photocatalytic process for wastewater treatment. To do this, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized in a simple, inexpensive, and convenient way to be utilized as photo-catalyst. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the wastewater was considered as a pollution index. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to investigated the interaction effect of the different parameters. According to the results, an optimum condition was observed at ۶ h retention time, nanoparticle dosage of ۱.۷۵ g/l, UV light intensity of ۴۵ W and pH of ۸ in which the highest COD removal efficiency of ۹۶% was obtained. The results of this study proved that photocatalytic process under optimal condition can be considered as an effective method for wastewater treatment.