Investigation of the catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of phenol over different types of Cu/ZSM-5 catalyst

In this work oxidation of phenol with hydrogen peroxide on Cu/ZSM-5 catalysts was studied. The catalysts samples were prepared by two different methods: by ionic exchange from the protonic form of commercial ZSM-5 zeolite, and by direct hydrothermal synthesis. Characterization of the catalysts extends to X-ray diffraction (XRD), while the adsorption techniques were used for the measurement of the specific surface area. The catalytic tests were carried out in a stainless steel Parr reactor in batch operation mode at the atmospheric pressure and the temperature range from 50 to 80 ◦C. The mass ratio of the active metal component on the zeolite was in the range of 1.62–3.24 wt.%. for catalyst prepared by direct hydrothermal synthesis and 2.23–3.52 wt.% for catalyst prepared by ion exchange method. The initial concentration of phenol and hydrogen peroxide was 0.01 and 0.1 mol dm−3, respectively. The influence of different methods of Cu/ZSM-5 preparation on their catalytic performance was monitored in terms of phenol conversion and degree of metal leached into aqueous solution.