Catalytic effects of activated carbon on hydrolysis reactions of chlorinated organic compounds

The hydrolysis reaction of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TeCA) is significantly enhanced by sorption on activated carbon. TeCA is quantitatively transformed into trichloroethene (TCE) at moderate pH values. This transformation is exploited as the basic step of a site-adapted groundwater-cleanup technology. The volatility of TCE is a factor of 23 higher than that of TeCA such that the partially dehydrochlorinated product can be easily stripped out of the groundwater flow. The base-mediated and the neutral dehydrochlorination of TeCA were studied as a function of temperature and pH value in batch and column experiments. Surprisingly, it was found that despite high loadings of the sorbent with TeCA and TCE (≥20 wt.%) the TeCA remains available for the hydrolysis reaction.