fatemeh poladzadeh - Department of Chemical Engineering, Mahshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahshahr, Iran
Hamid Kazemi Esfeh - Department of Chemical Engineering, Mahshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahshahr, Iran
leila samiee - Energy Technology Research Division, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Tehran, Iran

TiO۲ photocatalyst was used to degrade Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) from petrochemical wastewater. The photocatalytic performance of the TiO۲ was studied with variations of treatment parameters such as temperature, pH, contact time, and catalyst dosage. Design of Experiment (DOE) utilizing the Taguchi method was used to find and optimize the process model. Results for photocatalytic degradation of COD and BOD indicated the proper performance of TiO۲ as the photocatalyst. The best result was achieved at pH ۵ after ۹۰ min with ۷۳% COD conversion. COD degradation of petrochemical waste was optimized according to the experimental results, while process optimization indicated best process conditions are pH ≈ ۵.۲, temperature ≈ ۴۲.۸ °C, catalyst dosage = ۰.۷۵, and contact time of ۸۸ min.

TiO۲ Photocatalyst, Petrochemical wastewater, COD, BOD