Perfluorooctyl alumina with a dual applicability for removal of organic pollutants from aqueous medium

Ozone reacts with the pollutants in aqueous medium by two different mechanisms: indirect hydroxyl radical mechanism and direct molecular mechanism. Hydroxyl radicals have high oxidation potential, but are nonselective in their reactions and produce some harmful by-products. On the other hand, ozone in its molecular form is selective in its reactions; nevertheless its oxidizing potential is lower than the OH radicals. Hence, enhancement of the oxidation reactions of the molecular ozone by using appropriate catalysts is an interesting subject in this field. Perfuorinated alumina (PFAL) is an interesting candidate for this purpose. The organic pollutants and ozone in the aqueous medium tend to accumulate on the hydrophobic and nonpolar surface of the PFAL. This phenomenon results in higher concentrations of the organic pollutants and ozone on the surface of PFAL and lead to the higher oxidation rates of the pollutants. We used PFAL as an ozonation catalyst for the removal of MTBE from water and showed that PFAL enhances the direct molecular reactions of ozone effectively. We also studied the adsorption of MTBE from water by PFAL and showed that PFAL has a considerable adsorption capacity for removal of MTBE from water.

کلیدواژه ها:

Adsorption ، MTBE ، Organic Pollutants ، Ozonation Catalyst ، Perfluorinated Alumina