[Copper leaching in catalytic wet oxidation of phenol with Cu-containing spinel]

The Cu0.10, Zn0.90 Al1.90 Fe0.10 O4 spinel type catalyst prepared by sol-gel method was tested for catalytic wet air oxidation of phenol. The performances of Cu0.10 Zn0.90 Al1.90 Fe0.10 O4 catalyst in TPR experiment, the influence of phenol as reducer, reaction temperature and phenol-to-catalyst mass ratio on copper leaching were checked respectively. According to the experimental results, it is suggested that the reduced active species can not be easily re-oxidized under low reaction temperature and high phenol-to-catalyst mass ratio are the main reasons for copper leaching. Under high enough reaction temperature and low phenol-to-catalyst mass ratio, the copper leaching reduces remarkably. At 190 degrees C in the presence of 100 mL aqueous solution of 4.29 g x L(-1) of phenol and 2.5 g catalyst, the copper leaching was only 0.96 mg x L(-1) after 2 h of reaction.