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Electrocoagulation process for propiconazole elimination from wastewater: experimental design for correlative modeling and optimization

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Abstract

Electrocoagulation process is an electrochemical method to remove variety of contaminants (i.e., pesticides) from water and wastewater effluents. The current research examines the elimination of propiconazole by electrocoagulation technique. For this aim, after the preliminary screening tests (using factorial design) for the identification of the significant and remarkable factors, response surface methodology based on central composite design is employed to develop a correlative model for the efficiency of the electrocoagulation process. Furthermore, simultaneous optimization of the operational process variables [electrolysis duration (10–60 min), propiconazole initial concentration (10–50 mg/L), current density (2.5–12.5 mA/cm2), and solution conductivity (0.5–2.5 mS/cm)], is carried out to find the most appropriate strategy. The screening of the prime considered factors indicates that pH is not a significant variable and consequently is excluded from further deliberations. A quadratic correlative model is prepared, and model-based optimization is further performed and experimentally verified. The maximum removal efficiency (79.83%) is attained regarding the following process factors: the propiconazole initial concentration of 25.93 mg/L, the time duration of 36.44 min, the current density of 10.95 mA/cm2, and the solution conductivity of 2.44 mS/cm. The results demonstrate that through electrocoagulation process with proper operational variables, the amounts of propiconazole in wastewater effluents can adequately get lowered to acceptable levels.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank all who assisted in conducting this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanochemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Advanced Technologies, Shiraz University, Shiraz, 71345, Iran

    J. Shadmehr & S. Zeinali

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, 71345, Iran

    S. M. Mirsoleimani-azizi & P. Setoodeh

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  1. J. Shadmehr
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  2. S. M. Mirsoleimani-azizi
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  3. S. Zeinali
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Correspondence to S. Zeinali.

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Shadmehr, J., Mirsoleimani-azizi, S.M., Zeinali, S. et al. Electrocoagulation process for propiconazole elimination from wastewater: experimental design for correlative modeling and optimization. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 16, 5409–5420 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-1891-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-1891-8

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