Use of Descurainia sophia L. As a natural coagulant for the treatment of dye-containing wastewater

In this study, Descurainia sophia L. has been introduced as a potential source of natural coagulant for the treatment of dye-containing wastewater. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on a three-variable, three-level Box-Behnken design (BBD) was used to analyze the decolorization of a model textile wastewater containing neutral red dye. The effect of three parameters including contact time, pH, and the coagulant dose on the color removal was investigated. A second-order polynomial equation could accurately model the process with a R-2 of 0.96. The pH was found to be the most significant parameter affecting the color removal. High color (90.2%) removal efficiency was obtained at the optimal conditions of 6.5 min, pH 5.6, and 102.6 mg/L of coagulant. (c) 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 35: 996-1001, 2016