Factorial experimental design of winery wastewaters treatment by heterogeneous photo-Fenton process

Winery wastewaters are difficult to treat by conventional biological processes because they are seasonal and experience a substantial flow variations. Photocatalytic advanced oxidation is a promising technology for wastewaters containing high amounts of organic matter. In this work, the photo-Fenton process in heterogeneous phase is presented as an alternative methodology for the treatment of winery wastewaters. As a consequence of the great number of existing variables, an experimental design methodology has been used in order to study the influence and interaction of various variables and to obtain a reduced empirical model which describes the organic matter degradation process. Applying photo-Fenton treatment in heterogeneous phase under energetic conditions for synthetic samples simulating winery wastewaters results in purification levels of up to 50% (measured as total organic carbon). Different reduced models are obtained and their utilization depends mainly on the degree of degradation of organic matter required.