SET-POINT IDENTIFICATION OF AN OZONE WATER TREATMENT PROCESS

The efficiency of an ozone water treatment process depends on a multitude of factors, including both the command factors and the environmental conditions. The aim of the present work is to analyze the application of the response surface experimental design techniques that make use of quadratic functions for modeling the ozone water treatment process. Due to the importance of the robustness of such treatment process, the aim of this paper is to validate an experimental procedure for optimizing the treatment efficiency and for determining the set point. The experiments were carried out on a laboratory experimental bench using Venturi injection system, where three controllable factors were analyzed: the high voltage level, the oxygen flow rate and the water flow rate. Three "one-factor-at-a-time" experiments followed by a center-faces composite design were performed. Once the variation limits of the input variables are determined, a mathematical model was proposed which served to analyze the influence of the factors and their interactions. At the end, an optimal set point was identified.