Treatment of Phenol Wastewater by Catalytic Wet Peroxide Oxidation over Fe2O3/γ-Al2O3

Fe₂O₃/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts were prepared by the method of wet impregnation and were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), N₂ adsorption and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), respectively. The activity of Fe₂O₃/γ-Al₂O₃ for catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) of phenol was tested. The effects of the initial pH of the phenolic aqueous solutions and the iron content of Fe₂O₃/γ-Al₂O₃ on phenol degradation have been studied. The results indicated that almost total removal of phenol and considerably high reduction of COD for the initial phenol concentration of 100-1000 mg/L were achieved under mild conditions. The leached iron from the catalyst was negligible.