Heterogeneous Catalysts for Catalytic Wet Air Oxidation

The objective of this project is to develop advanced heterogeneous catalysts for catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of volatile or toxic organic compounds present in industrial wastewater. Inclusion of catalysts in wet air oxidation systems increases complete destruction of organic compounds and reduces the severity of the operation conditions, resulting in a substantial decrease in processing cost. The technical goals for the proposed catalysts will be to achieve high oxidation activity and stability under relevant conditions with minimal leaching and hydrothermal sintering. The catalysts to be developed are based on metals and metal oxides with low-temperature oxidation activity and inherent water resistance. Activity and chemical and thermal stability will be further promoted with appropriate additives and by compositing the catalysts with hydrophobic materials. Successful completion of Phase I will identify a range of catalyst compositions capable of significantly reducing the severity of operating conditions during CWAO of volatile or toxic organic compounds. Phase I results also will indicate the sensitivity of catalyst activity to preparation and pretreatment conditions, and indicate the feasibility of producing the catalysts in industrially suitable forms. The first product to which Eltron Research, Inc., will apply this technology is a catalyst system for decontaminating industrial wastewater. However, derivatives of this product also could be used for municipal and residential water. Furthermore, it is anticipated that this technology will have broad application beyond water treatment. Essentially, this same technology could be used to decontaminate exhaust gas streams from solvent-intensive processes such as spray painting, degreasing, chemical processing, computer chip/device manufacturing, and dry cleaning. Minor modifications of this technology could be applied to the restaurant industry for removing hydrocarbons produced by grills and deep fryers.