Phenol oxidation with hydrogen peroxide using Cu/ZSM5 and Cu/Y5 catalysts

In this work, catalytic activity and stability of Cu/Y5 and Cu/ZSM5 zeolites in phenol oxidation with hydrogen peroxide were examined. The catalyst samples were prepared by the ion exchange method of the protonic form of commercial zeolites. The catalysts were characterized by the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), AAS, while the adsorption techniques were used to measure the specific surface area. The thermal programmed desorption of NH3 (NH3-TPD) was used for measuring the total number of acid sites formed on the surface of zeolites. Catalytic performance of the prepared samples was monitored in terms of phenol, hydrogen peroxide and total organic carbon (TOC) conversion, by-product distribution and a degree of copper leached into the aqueous solution. It was found that the activity of Cu/Y5 catalyst was generally higher than that of Cu/ZSM5 and that unlike Cu/ZSM5, Cu/Y5 catalyzed phenol oxidation more completely.