Catalytic Wet Peroxide Oxidation of Phenol: Study of Fe2O3/Al2O3 Systems

CARLA DI LUCA; FERNANDO IVORRA; PAOLA MASSA; ROSA FENOGLIO

Lyon

Conferencia; 7th International Conference on Environmental Catalysis; 2012

Sociedad Química de Francia (SCF), división Catálisis

We tested Fe2O3/Al2O3 pellets with low iron content, for the peroxidation of phenol solutions at a moderate reaction temperature (70ºC). A relatively concentrated phenol initial charge (5000 ppm) was selected, which imposes more demanding reaction conditions for the catalyst. The effects of two main process variables were studied: catalyst concentration and oxidant concen-tration, in order to approach to optimized reaction conditions. The catalyst resulted active and selective for the CWPO of phenol, at mild operation conditions. Both variables, catalyst concentration and H2O2:phenol ratio were significant to determine the overall performance, especially in terms of TOC reduction. Due to the low iron content of the catalyst, higher catalyst concentra-tions improved mineralization levels. The mineralization was also enhanced at substoichiometric H2O2 initial concentrations. The use of stoichiometric H2O2 doses (or above) resulted in a less efficient use of the oxidant.