Advanced oxidation processes for destruction of dissolved organics in process wastewater: statistical design of experiments

Factors influencing the oxidation of wastewater containing principally formaldehyde, methanol, 2-propanol, ethanol, acetic and formic acids by hydrogen peroxide or ammonium nitrate were investigated. A literature review suggested that the following were influential: treatment time, temperature, amount of oxygen, the type of oxidizing agent and the presence of a platinum catalyst. An orthogonal array of 8 rows and 7 columns was set up according to Taguchi's methodology for a preliminary experimental design. Data obtained according to this scheme identified the most significant factor, which proved to be temperature, with minimal experimentation. The result was valid only over the range of variables studied.