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Optimization and Modeling of Tetracycline Removal from Wastewater by Three-Dimensional Electrochemical System: Application of Response Surface Methodology and Least Squares Support Vector Machine

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Abstract

A three-dimensional electrochemical system was employed as an advanced treatment technology for treatment of tetracycline-containing wastewater. An initial tetracycline concentration of 20.17–100.23 mg/L, pH range of 2.43–9.18, and current density of 1.03–15.72 mA/cm2 were implemented for the optimization and modeling of the process within the framework of a three-factor, five-level Box–Wilson central composite design-based response surface methodology and least squares support vector machine. The results of statistics corroborated that three main effective factors and reactor performance were very well described by the second-order polynomial equation (coefficient of determination = 0.94, mean square error = 0.0042, root mean square error = 0.065, average absolute deviation = 2.51, and mean absolute error = 0.037). Under the optimal conditions introduced by the desirability function approach, 90.42 (± 2.3)%, 49.91 ± (8.4)% and 28.80 ± (16.70)% of tetracycline, chemical oxygen demand, and total organic carbon could be removed using the three-dimensional electrochemical process from wastewater. The findings of this study demonstrated that the three-dimensional electrochemical system was as an effective, simple, and economic process compared to other electrochemical systems that have been recently used for antibiotics removal and could be considered as a promising technology for further investigations.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr. Mohamad Hossein Ahmadi Azqhandi (Faculty of Gas and Petroleum, Yasouj University, Iran) for his valuable comments in LS-SVM analyses.

Funding

This project was financed by Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran (Grant number 9412046696).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran

    Maryam Foroughi

  2. Health Sciences Research Center, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran

    Maryam Foroughi

  3. Department of Environmental Health Engineering & Research Centre for Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, 6517838695, Iran

    Ali Reza Rahmani

  4. Social Determinants of Health Research Center (SDHRC), Faculty of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, 6517838695, Iran

    Ghorban Asgari

  5. Faculty of Chemistry, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, 6517838695, Iran

    Davood Nematollahi

  6. Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Davutpasa Campus, 34220, Esenler, Istanbul, Turkey

    Kaan Yetilmezsoy

  7. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, 6517838695, Iran

    Mohammad Reza Samarghandi

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  1. Maryam Foroughi
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Foroughi, M., Rahmani, A.R., Asgari, G. et al. Optimization and Modeling of Tetracycline Removal from Wastewater by Three-Dimensional Electrochemical System: Application of Response Surface Methodology and Least Squares Support Vector Machine. Environ Model Assess 25, 327–341 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10666-019-09675-9

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