Highly stable Fe/γ‐Al2O3 catalyst for catalytic wet peroxide oxidation

Abstract

AbstractBACKGROUND: A highly stable Fe/γ‐Al2O3 catalyst for catalytic wet peroxide oxidation has been studied using phenol as target pollutant. The catalyst was prepared by incipient wetness impregnation of γ‐Al2O3 with an aqueous solution of Fe(NO3)3· 9H2O. The influence of pH, temperature, catalyst and H2O2 doses, as well as the initial phenol concentration has been analyzed.RESULTS: The reaction temperature and initial pH significantly affect both phenol conversion and total organic carbon removal. Working at 50 °C, an initial pH of 3, 100 mg L−1 of phenol, a dose of H2O2 corresponding to the stoichiometric amount and 1250 mg L−1 of catalyst, complete phenol conversion and a total organic carbon removal efficiency close to 80% were achieved. When the initial phenol concentration was increased to 1500 mg L−1, a decreased efficiency in total organic carbon removal was observed with increased leaching of iron that can be related to a higher concentration of oxalic acid, as by‐product from catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of phenol.CONCLUSION: A laboratory synthesized γ‐Al2O3 supported Fe has shown potential application in catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of phenolic wastewaters. The catalyst showed remarkable stability in long‐term continuous experiments with limited Fe leaching, < 3% of the initial loading. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry