Wet oxidation of wastewater containing hydrocarbons by novel supported Pd catalysts

Pd catalysts supported on TiO₂, ZrO₂, ZSM-5, MCM-41 and activated carbon were used in catalytic wet oxidation of hydrocarbons such as phenol, m-cresol and m-xylene. It was found that the Pd/TiO₂ catalyst was highly effective in the wet oxidation of hydrocarbon. The activities of catalysts with various hydrocarbon species, catalyst support, oxidation state of catalyst performed in a 3-phase slurry reactor show that reaction on Pd surface is more favorable than that in aqueous phase and that the active site is oxidized Pd in catalytic wet air oxidation of hydrocarbons. Based on the experimental results, a plausible reaction mechanism of wet oxidation of hydrocarbons catalyzed over Pd/TiO₂ catalyst was proposed. This catalyst is superior to other oxide catalysts because it suppressed the formation of hardly-degradable organic intermediates and polymer.