Investigation of catalytic decomposition of phenol in a lab scale three-phase fluidized bed reactor using Fe on activated carbon support

A lab-scale three-phase fluidized-bed reactor was used to investigate the decomposition of 10 ppm aqueous phenol. Comparison of the phenol decomposition rates under the three different conditions: a) employing only Fe catalyst on activated carbon support (Fe/Ac), b) employing only ozone (O3) and c) employing Fe/Ac enhanced with O3, were carried out. The gas and liquid flow rate were kept constant at 1 L/min and the catalyst loading was 5 g. The liquid was circulated through the reactor and its phenol concentration was measured with respect to time. The experimental results of the decomposition of 2 L of phenol solution revealed that using only Fe/Ac without O3 gave the worst result (k = 0.026 min(-1)). However, when employed with only O3 generated from pure O2, the result was better (k = 0.052 min(-1)). In the case of using Fe/Ac enhanced with O3, it provided the best result (k = 0.241 min(-1)). In the best case, the complete degradation of phenol can be essentially achieved within 20 min whereas the total organic carbon (TOC) was reduced to less than 2 ppm in 120 min.