Open Access Short Communication Petroleum & Environmental Biotechnology J o u r n a l o f P e t r o l e u m & E n v ir o n m e n t a l B i o t e c h n o l o g y ISSN: 2157-7463 Aljubourya et al., J Pet Environ Biotechnol 2016, 7:1 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2157-7463.1000260 Volume 7 • Issue 1 • 1000260 J Pet Environ Biotechnol ISSN: 2157-7463 JPEB, an open access journal Abstract The present study is conducted to compare the performance of different oxidation processes such as the solar photo-Fenton, the solar photocatalyst of TiO 2 and solar photocatalyst of TiO 2 /Fenton process for the treatment of petroleum wastewater from Sohar oil reinery (SOR) by a central composite design (CCD) with response surface methodology (RSM). The degradation eficiency is evaluated in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) reductions. The solar photocatalyst of TiO 2 /Fenton method improved the performance of photocatalyst TiO 2 in the normal value of pH (7) for petroleum wastewater, therefore no need to adjust pH during this treatment. In acidic conditions pH <7, the solar photo-Fenton process is more eficient than the solar photocatalyst of TiO 2 process, while it is less eficient than the solar photocatalyst of TiO 2 process in alkaline conditions pH >7. The TiO 2 dosage and pH are the two main factors that improved the TOC and COD removal in the solar photocatalyst of TiO 2 /Fenton and the solar photocatalyst of TiO 2 processes while the pH and H 2 O 2 concentration are the two main factors in the solar photo-Fenton process. Comparative Study to the Solar Photo-Fenton, Solar Photocatalyst of TiO 2 and Solar Photocatalyst of TiO 2 Combined with Fenton Process to Treat Petroleum Wastewater by RSM Dheeaa al deen Atallah Aljubourya 1 *, Puganeshwary Palaniandy 1 , Hamidi Bin Abdul Aziz 1 and Shaik Feroz 2 1 School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia 2 Caledonian College of Engineering, Oman Keywords: he solar photo-Fenton process; he solar photocatalyst of TiO 2 process; he solar photocatalyst of TiO 2 /Fenton process; he petroleum wastewater; Chemical oxygen demand; Total organic carbon Introduction Recently, one of the major problems facing industrialized nations is contamination of the environment by hazardous chemicals. A wide range of pollutants are detected in petroleum waste water in Sohar oil reinery. So, the elimination of these chemicals from petroleum wastewater is presently one of the most important aspects of pollution control in Oman. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have capability of rapid degradation of recalcitrant pollutants in the aquatic environment. Remediation of hazardous substances is attributed to hydroxyl radical. A hydroxyl radical has the potential to destroy and degrade organic pollutants [1]. Advantages of AOPs are that it occur even at very low concentration and don’t form environmentally hazardous byproducts [2]. In the solar photocatalyst of TiO 2 , when TiO 2 exposed to sunlight, a hole in the valence band and an electron in the conduction band are generated by light induction. his hole causes the oxidation of hydroxyl ions and produces the hydroxyl radicals at the TiO 2 surface. While in the photo-Fenton process, formation of hydroxyl radicals based on reaction between Fe +2 and H 2 O 2 under sunlight irradiation. In treatment of non-biodegradable and toxic compounds, the photo- catalytic processes have shown promising results [3]. Several previous studies have reported the enhanced oxidation of contaminants by the photo-catalyst of TiO 2 system in the presence of Fenton. Kim [4] reported that the combination of TiO 2 photo-catalysis and the Fenton-like reaction synergistically increased degradation of organic compounds at circum-neutral pH (6.5-7.5) by increased production of reactive oxidants and improved the reactivity of the oxidant. However, it has not been clearly addressed whether the integration of the UV/ TiO 2 and Fe +3 /H 2 O 2 systems exhibits synergistic results with respect to the degradation of the contaminant. Little data are available on the role of iron in the UV/TiO 2 system under neutral pH conditions, where the Fe +3 /H 2 O 2 or UV/ Fe +3 /H 2 O 2 system alone is not efective for oxidant production and pollutant oxidation due to the low aqueous iron solubility H 2 O 2 decomposition via a non-radical mechanism (not leading to hydroxyl radicals generation) [1,4,5]. Zarei [6] showed that removal eiciency of phenol was 69.36% at 150 min using photo electro-Fenton (PEF)/Mn 2+ /TiO 2 nano-particles for the removal of phenol from aqueous solutions. While Nogueira [7] showed that the roles of iron and H 2 O 2 are much more important than that of TiO 2 in the photo degradation of both 4CP and DCA under solar irradiation [7]. he main aims for this study are the following: • Comparison of the homogenous and the heterogeneous photo-catalytic systems (the solar photo Fenton, the solar photocatalyst of TiO 2 and solar photocatalyst of TiO 2 /Fenton process) by “A central composite design (CCD) with response surface methodology (RSM)” based on their performance for the oxidation of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) in petroleum wastewater. • To assess treatment eiciencies and the main factors for these methods by “A central composite design (CCD) with response surface methodology (RSM)”. *Corresponding author: Dheeaa al deen Atallah Aljubourya, School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Nibong Tebal, Seberang Perai Selatan, Pulau Pinang, 14300, Malaysia; Tel: +60 968 95358288; E-mail: msc.dheeaa@yahoo.com Receive August 13, 2015; Accepted December 21, 2015; Published January 02, 2016 Citation: Aljubourya DA, Palaniandy P, Aziz HBA, Feroz S (2016) Comparative Study to the Solar Photo-Fenton, Solar Photocatalyst of Tio 2 and Solar Photocatalyst of Tio 2 Combined with Fenton Process to Treat Petroleum Wastewater by RSM. J Pet Environ Biotechnol 7: 260. doi:10.4172/2157-7463.1000260 Copyright: © 2016 Aljubourya DA, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.