Response surface methodology based investigations of total organic carbon removal using cerium oxide nanoparticle

This study aimed to optimize the removal of total organic carbon (TOC) from drinking water using cerium oxide nanoparticle (CONP) through response surface methodology (RSM) based approach. The CONP was synthesized using an efficient microwave combustion (EMC) technique. It was further characterised by High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, and zeta potential. CONP was found highly efficient in removing up to 94 % TOC at the optimum condition i.e., pH = 7, dosage = 0.5 g/L, and contact time = 30 min. Pareto analysis revealed that amongst all the selected variables, the CONP dose had the greatest cumulative impact on TOC removal. The second-order polynomial model developed using the RSM technique was found highly accurate in predicting the removal of TOC from drinking water (R2 = 0.98). The study offers a unique approach for reducing the number of experimental trials and arriving at an optimal experimental conditions to achieve higher TOC adsorption efficiency.