Application of response surface methodology for optimization of natural organic matter degradation by UV/H2O2 advanced oxidation process

BACKGROUND: In this research, the removal of natural organic matter from aqueous solutions using advanced oxidation processes (UV/H(2)O(2)) was evaluated. Therefore, the response surface methodology and Box-Behnken design matrix were employed to design the experiments and to determine the optimal conditions. The effects of various parameters such as initial concentration of H(2)O(2) (100–180 mg/L), pH (3–11), time (10–30 min) and initial total organic carbon (TOC) concentration (4–10 mg/L) were studied. RESULTS: Analysis of variance (ANOVA), revealed a good agreement between experimental data and proposed quadratic polynomial model (R(2) = 0.98). Experimental results showed that with increasing H(2)O(2) concentration, time and decreasing in initial TOC concentration, TOC removal efficiency was increased. Neutral and nearly acidic pH values also improved the TOC removal. Accordingly, the TOC removal efficiency of 78.02% in terms of the independent variables including H(2)O(2) concentration (100 mg/L), pH (6.12), time (22.42 min) and initial TOC concentration (4 mg/L) were optimized. Further confirmation tests under optimal conditions showed a 76.50% of TOC removal and confirmed that the model is accordance with the experiments. In addition TOC removal for natural water based on response surface methodology optimum condition was 62.15%. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that response surface methodology based on Box-Behnken method is a useful tool for optimizing the operating parameters for TOC removal using UV/H(2)O(2) process

Data on physicochemical quality of drinking water in the rural area in Divandarreh county, Kurdistan, Iran

Good quality of drinking water is very important in the maintenance of human health. The gathered data from the present work was used to evaluate the quality of drinking water resources in the rural villages of Divandarreh, Iran. Physicochemical quality of water was determined by a collection of 35 random samples during dry and rainy seasons in 2015. The APHA approach was used to determine the physicochemical parameters of the samples. The results showed that the average concentration of Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl, SO4, TDS and TH during dry season was 85.64 mg/l, 13.41 mg/l, 34.11 mg/l, 2.8 mg/l, 9.9 mg/l, 45.7 mg/l, 326.06 mg/l and 269.61 mg/l, respectively. Also, the average concentration of the parameters during rainy season was 77.3 mg/l, 18.27 mg/l, 30.3 mg/l, 1.9 mg/l, 12.54 mg/l, 39 mg/l, 269.1 mg/l and 316.17 mg/l, respectively. Keywords: Divandarreh, Physicochemical quality, Drinking water, Rural are