This study aimed to degrade and mineralize furfural as a pollutant in wastewater. For this purpose, homogeneous advanced oxidation processes of UV/potassium persulfate (UV/KPS) and UV/potassium periodate (UV/KPI), along with an upward flow photoreactor, equipped with an 8 W UV-C lamp were employed. In order to design the experiments, modeling, and optimizations, central composite design method was used. Based on the results, the variation of furfural degradation efficiency(DE) with initial concentration of oxidants and media pH was presented by the proposed quadratic equations. After 25 min treatment, 45.1 and 93.8% DEs were obtained under the optimum conditions of pH 4.6, [KPS]0 = 2195.0 mg/L, and pH 5.1, [KPI]0 = 1817.0 mg/L, respectively, and 7.1 and 74.6% mineralization, based on COD criterion. Further, the concentration variation revealed that furfural degradation could follow the overall first-order reaction kinetics. In addition, the operating cost was estimated and compared with other processes. Finally, the findings indicated that UV/KPS process is superior to other photochemical methods in furfural degradation.
