Taguchi method and response surface methodology in the treatment of highly contaminated tannery wastewater using commercial potassium ferrate

The potential implementation of Envifer®, a commercial product containing potassium ferrate (40.1% K₂FeO₄), for the purification of highly contaminated tannery wastewater from leather dyeing processes was proposed. The employment of the Taguchi method for optimization of experiments allowed the discoloration (98.4%), chemical oxygen demand (77.2%), total organic carbon (75.7%), and suspended solids (96.9%) values to be lowered using 1.200 g/L K₂FeO₄ at pH 3 within 9 min. The application of the central composite design (CCD) and the response surface methodology (RSM) with the use of 1.400 g/L K₂FeO₄ at pH 4.5 diminished the discoloration, the chemical oxygen demand, the total organic carbon, and suspended solids within 9 min. The Taguchi method is suitable for the initial implementation, while the RSM is superior for the extended optimization of wastewater treatment processes.