Fenton Technology Wastewater Treatment Optimization Using Box-Behnken Design for Reuse in Irrigation

Abstract

Because of the environmental interaction between sewage, soil, water, and human health, wastewater treatment is one of the most important environmental issues, and if it is disposed of in banks and groundwater reservoirs without adequate treatment, it poses a significant risk to public health. As a result of the environmental interaction between sewage, soil, water, and human health, it becomes necessary to develop effective wastewater management to avoid its dangerous effect. Therefore, the use of environmentally friendly green technology to treat that wastewater is a leap in the field of wastewater treatment that will lead to improving the quality of the water resulting from the treatment process, using Fenton technology for wastewater treatment is a brilliant step on the way to achieving high organic substances removal. In this study, an experimental study based on Fenton technology was established to optimize the operating conditions required to achieve a higher COD removal.  A laboratory model was constructed to determine the optimum pH value in addition to the ideal concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and Ferric salt (Fe2+). By performing a numerical design using Box–Behnken Design, it was clear that (PH=4.2, Fe+2= 21.9 mM per liter, H2O2= 335 mM per liter) were the ideal conditions of Fenton technology to achieve COD removal efficiency up to 71%. A second laboratory model was performed by adding an aeration tank and Filter unit beside the Fenton tank to maximize the efficiency of organic matter removal to reuse it for irrigation. The Final COD, BOD, TSS, TN, and TP concentrations were 32.4, 14.9, 27, 12.1, and 1.12, respectively. The Final effluent concentrations were below the Egyptian code limitations for reusing for irrigation purposes.  And that water can be reused to irrigate green areas in new cities, which limits the use of fresh water, whose scarcity has become one of the biggest challenges facing humanity at the beginning of the twenty-first century.