Oxidative destruction of o-DCB on supported manganese oxide catalyst

An active catalyst, MnO(2)/Al(2)O(3), was prepared by a novel technique as well as wet impregnation method. Total oxidation of chlorinated aromatics on supported manganese oxide catalysts was investigated. It is seen that MnO(2) supported on Al(2)O(3) is an effective catalyst for the oxidative destruction of o-DCB in the concentration range of 1611-2263ppm at temperatures over 350 degrees C. It is also seen that for the catalyst with 0.029% MnO(2), the activity per unit amount of MnO(2) is much higher than that for the other catalysts and the activity per unit amount of MnO(2) decreases sharply for MnO(2)-loading above 0.5%. This high activity may be attributed to a high degree of dispersion of MnO(2) achieved by deposition from colloidal solution. No chlorinated byproducts are detected in the effluent during the oxidative destruction of o-DCB. It is proposed that catalyst with MnO(2)-loading less than 0.5% MnO(2) can be effective for the oxidative degradation of o-DCB. Such catalysts will be less difficult to dispose of after use in view of their low heavy-metal content, and consequently, less harmful to the environment. The possibility of supporting MnO(2) on clay materials may be explored and very cheap catalysts are likely to be obtained by depositing MnO(2) from colloidal solutions.