Artificial Intelligence Based Optimization for the Se(IV) Removal from Aqueous Solution by Reduced Graphene Oxide-Supported Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron Composites

Highly promising artificial intelligence tools, including neural network (ANN), genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), were applied in the present study to develop an approach for the evaluation of Se(IV) removal from aqueous solutions by reduced graphene oxide-supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI/rGO) composites. Both GA and PSO were used to optimize the parameters of ANN. The effect of operational parameters (i.e., initial pH, temperature, contact time and initial Se(IV) concentration) on the removal efficiency was examined using response surface methodology (RSM), which was also utilized to obtain a dataset for the ANN training. The ANN-GA model results (with a prediction error of 2.88%) showed a better agreement with the experimental data than the ANN-PSO model results (with a prediction error of 4.63%) and the RSM model results (with a prediction error of 5.56%), thus the ANN-GA model was an ideal choice for modeling and optimizing the Se(IV) removal by the nZVI/rGO composites due to its low prediction error. The analysis of the experimental data illustrates that the removal process of Se(IV) obeyed the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the Se 3d and 3p peaks found in XPS spectra for the nZVI/rGO composites after removing treatment illustrates that the removal of Se(IV) was mainly through the adsorption and reduction mechanisms.