Response surface method for the optimisation of micropollutant removal in municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent with the UV/H2O2 advanced oxidation process

Experiments with the ultraviolet (UV)/H2O2 advanced oxidation process (AOP) were conducted to investigate the abatement of micropollutants in wastewater treatment plant effluent. The fluence and the starting concentration of H2O2 in a bench-scale batch reactor were varied according to response surface method (RSM) to examine their influence on the treatment efficiency. It was shown that the investigated AOP is very effective for the abatement of micropollutants with conversion rates typically higher than 90%. Empirical relationships between fluence, H2O2 dosage and the resulting concentration of micropollutants were established by RSM. By this means it was shown that X-ray-contrast media had been degraded only by UV light. Nevertheless, most substances were degraded by the combination of UV irradiation and H2O2. Based on RSM an optimisation of multiple responses was conducted to find the minimal fluence and H2O2 dosage that are needed to reach an efficient abatement of micropollutants.