Response Surface Methodology for Optimization of Cathode Surface Area and Inter-Electrode Gap in Electro-generation of H2O2

Hydrogen peroxide (H
₂
O
₂
) is a strong oxidizing agent, which is widely used in numerous industrial applications. In order to reduce the hazards involved, research has focused on the small-scale on-site production of H
₂
O
₂
using electrolysis. Therefore, the present study focused on optimization of the electrolysis using an acidic electrolyte in order to maximize the concentration of electro-generated H
₂
O
₂
, for use in low pH applications. To this end, response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design (CCD) was used to develop a mathematical model and to determine optimum process parameters for cathode surface area and the inter-electrode gap. The mathematical model (R
²
= 84.79%) indicated that the cathode surface area has a higher effect on the final concentration of H
₂
O
₂
as compared to the inter-electrode gap, where the maximum yield of 17.03 mg/L H
₂
O
₂
was obtained when cathode surface area and inter-electrode gap were 7.44 cm
²
and 1 cm respectively.