Activated carbon cloth: a potential adsorbing/oxidizing catalyst for phenolic wastewater

An investigation into the use of activated carbon cloth (ACC) as a potential adsorbent and/or catalyst for oxidation processes is reported. The extent of increase/decrease of oxidation/adsorption of phenol, as measured by total organic carbon content (%), is explained by considering the effects of the oxidants such as ozone and hydrogen peroxide on the activated carbon cloth. Results also show that acid pH enhances the catalytic decomposition of H(2)O(2) to hydroxyl radicals, increasing TOC removal from 16 to 55% as a result of oxidation of phenol in addition to adsorption on the ACC surface. Furthermore when using ACC catalysis under optimized conditions, the maximum extent of TOC elimination is approximately 70% with three 15 min doses of ozone at pH 9.