Copper on Activated Carbon for Catalytic Wet Air Oxidation

Textile industry is an important source of water contamination. Some of the organic contaminants cannot be eliminated by nature in a reasonable period. Heterogeneous catalytic wet air oxidation is one of the most effective methods to purify wastewater with organic contaminants. In this work, catalysts based on copper supported on activated carbon were synthesized. The activated carbons were obtained from industrial wastes (apricot core and grape stalk) of San Juan, Argentina. These were impregnated with a copper salt and thermically treated in an inert atmosphere. Analysis of specific surface, pore volume, p zc , acidity, basicity and XRD patterns were made in order to characterize the catalysts. The catalytic activity was tested in the oxidation of methylene blue (MB) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in aqueous phase with pure oxygen. Reaction tests were carried out in a Parr batch reactor at different temperatures, with a 0.2 MPa partial pressure of oxygen. The amount of unconverted organics was measured by spectrophotometry. Higher temperatures were necessary for the degradation of PVA compared to those for methylene blue.