Degradation of phenol by a heterogeneous photo-Fenton process using Fe/Cu/Al catalysts

Abstract

Fe₂O₃/γ-Al₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃/CuO/γ-Al₂O₃ heterogeneous Fenton catalysts were synthesized for the degradation of phenol solution in experiment. The morphology and physicochemical properties of the catalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, FTIR, and DRS. ICP was used to measure the ion leaching of iron and copper. Some important operational parameters, such as pH value, reaction temperature, calcination temperature, catalyst dose and hydrogen peroxide concentration, were researched in this work. According to the results, the catalytic ability of the catalysts could meet 88.0% and 75.6% at pH 4.5 and 5.5. The removal rate could reach 95.4% at 65 °C within 20 min under the optimized conditions. In addition, the results also showed that the catalysts achieved a degradation efficiency of 79% in 3 h after the 4th consecutive reuse, showing good stability and reusability. Moreover, ICP detected that the ion leaching of iron is 0.18 mg L⁻¹, but the copper ions were not detected in the study.