Treatment of benzene, toluene, and xylene by deep oxidation on CuO catalytic materials synthesised from red mud and rice husk ash

In this study, CuO-doped material fabricated from rice husk ash and red mud was modified by CeO2 promoter and urea using the impregnation method. The obtained samples were investigated for catalytic degradation of aromatic derivatives (benzene,toluene, and p-xylene - BTX) at a temperature range of 275 to 450oC. This demonstrated that all samples were highly active in the BTX treatment. Several techniques, such as X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), BET surface areas and pore parameters (N2physisorption), and hydrogen temperature programed reduction (H2-TPR), were applied to analyse properties of obtained materials. The modification of CuO-doped catalytic material by both CeO2 promoter and urea resulted in decreased particle size, increased CuO dispersion, and improved catalytic activity of the material. In relation to this material, the conversions of benzene, toluene, and p-xylene were 66.1%, 96.8%, and 96.8% respectively at 375oC.