SBA-15 supported Fe, Ni, Fe-Ni bimetallic catalysts for wet oxidation of bisphenol-A

Abstract

Bisphenol A is considered as pollutant, because it is toxic and hazardous to living organisms even at very low concentrations. Biological oxidation used for removing this organic from waste water is not suitable and consequently application of catalytic wet oxidation has been considered as one of the best options for treating bisphenol A. We have developed Fe/SBA-15, Ni/SBA-15 and Fe-Ni/SBA-15 as heterogeneous catalysts using the advanced impregnation method for oxidation of bisphenol A in water. The catalysts were characterized with physico-chemical characterization methods such as, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), FT-IR measurements, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICPOES) analysis. This work illustrates activity of the catalysts for heterogeneous catalytic degradation reaction revealed with excellent conversion and recyclability. The degradation products identified were not persistent pollutants. GC-MS analysis identified the products: 2,4-hexadienedioic acid, 2,4-pentadienic acid and isopropanol or acetic acid. The leachability study indicated that the catalysts release very little metals to water. Therefore, the possibility of water contamination through metal leaching was almost negligible.