Successful Use of Response Surface Methodology to Enhance the Degradation Efficiency of a Water Pollutant of Emerging Concern

This work described the main experimental data related to the elimination of an emergent water pollutant in aqueous solution using an oxidation process mediated by UVA light and titanium dioxide as a catalyst. The target molecule considered in this work is clofibric acid, a water pollutant of major concern due to its persistence in the aquatic environment. Indeed, this molecule is poorly eliminated by the conventional techniques used for the wastewater treatment. The effect of some key process parameters over the pollutant photocatalytic degradation, like the initial pollutant concentration, catalyst load, light intensity, and exposure time, were analyzed by employing the Response Surface Methodology. A custom Central Composite Design was used for the modeling process, to predict the pollutant removal yield in all experimental ranges and determine the optimal experimental conditions to enhance its elimination efficiency.