Catalytic wet air oxidation of textile industrial wastewater using metal supported on carbon nanofibers

The catalytic performance of 3 wt.% copper supported on carbon nanofibers (CNFs) in liquid phase oxidation has been tested using a batch stirred tank microreactor in order to determine the decolorization and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency in washing textile wastewater (WTW). A preliminary study was carried out in a temperature range of 120–160 °C and two oxygen partial pressure of 6.3 and 8.7 bar. TOC removal and toxicity reduction were as high as 74.1% and 43%, respectively at 140 °C and 8.7 bar, after 180 min reaction. The main intermediates detected in raw wastewater were decanoic acid, methyl ester and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, and have been degraded by means of Cu/CNF catalyst. Application of CWAO to the treatment of a textile effluent at 160 °C and 8.7 bar of oxygen partial pressure showed that the use of a Cu/CNF catalyst significantly improves the TOC and color removal efficiencies and it can be considered as an option for a pretreatment step in the treatment of these industrial effluents.