Catalytic Ozonation of Bisphenol A in Aqueous Medium by Mn-Fe/Al2O3 Catalyst

Abstract

Abstract γ-Al2O3 supported Manganese and Ferric oxide (Mn-Fe/Al2O3) were synthesized and used as catalyst for ozonation of bisphenol A (BPA) in aqueous solution. It was conducted in a semi-batch reactor under different operational conditions, i.e., varying initial pH, ozone flow rate, initial BPA concentration and catalyst dosage. The results indicated that the presence of Mn-Fe/Al2O3 lead to a great enhancement in ozonation of BPA. Using 5 g/L Mn-Fe/Al2O3 evaluated BPA (50 mg/L) removal efficiency up to 84.1% under particular reaction conditions, while that of the single ozonation process was 48.5%. The influence of tert-butanol demonstrated that initiation of hydroxyl radicals was involved and plays an important role in catalytic ozonation. The decrement of solution pH in catalytic ozonation was much higher than that in ozone alone, indicating much small molecule acids produced in catalytic ozonation process. The repeated use the Mn-Fe/Al2O3 proved that it had a good reusability and stability.