Catalytic wet peroxide oxidation with modified carbon nanotubes Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • Catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) uses H2O2 as a source of hydroxyl radicals (HO) for the oxidation of organic species. This process is regarded as a potential solution for the treatment of aqueous effluents containing recalcitrant and toxic organic pollutants, difficult to remove by conventional biological processes, mainly if present at high concentrations (1- 10 g L-1) [1]. In a recent study, three magnetic carbon nanotube (CNT) samples, named A30 (N-doped), E30 (undoped) and E10A20 (partially N-doped), were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition and tested in the CWPO process [2]. It was revealed that N-doped hydrophilic surfaces promoted a fast decomposition of H2O2 into non-reactive species (H2O and O2), limiting the CWPO performance. In the present study, the surface of the CNTs was modified by introducing oxygenated surface groups (oxidation with HNO3, samples CNT-N), and by heat treatment at 800 °C for the removal of surface functionalities (samples CNT-HT). The effect of these modifications was analysed during 24-hours- CWPO-experiments of highly concentrated 4-nitrophenol solutions (4-NP, 5 g L-1), at atmospheric pressure and 50 °C, adjusting the initial pH to 3, using a catalyst load of 2.5 g L-1 and the stoichiometric amount of H2O2 needed for the complete mineralization of 4-NP. Given the magnetic properties of the Fe nanoparticles encapsulated inside the CNTs (formed during the CVD synthesis), catalyst separation
  • This work was financially supported by Projects NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006 (NORTE 2020, ERDF) and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984–Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM (COMPETE2020, ERDF). M. Martín Martínez and B.F. Machado acknowledge the FCT Postdoc grant SFRH/BPD/108510/2015 and the FCT Investigator 2015 Programme IF/00301/2015, respectively.

publication date

  • January 1, 2018