SBIR Phase I: Heterogeneous Catalytic Peroxidation of Environmental Contaminants

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a continuous heterogeneous catalytic peroxidation process for destruction of aqueous organic and inorganic heterogeneous contaminants. Fenton peroxidation with Fe (II) as a homogeneous catalyst is used extensively for the oxidative treatment of organic and inorganic contaminants in industrial wastewater. This requires acidification, flocculation, iron recovery by precipitation, and is generally limited to "batch operations." Homogeneous peroxidation often achieves only partial oxidation of organic contaminants, yielding organic acids. This project will develop a highly effective heterogeneous peroxidation catalyst and reactor design for oxidation of organics using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant, which will facilitate deeper oxidation of organic contaminants, simplify process design, reduce power usage, and increase oxidation rates, especially for more refractory organic contaminants such as carboxylic acids. Environmental contaminants that will be studied include phenol, methyl-t-butyl ether (MTBE), cyanide and toluene.

The commercial application of this project will be in pollution control and remediation. The project will be run in collaboration with a major hydrogen peroxide producer and a leading supplier to the pollution control market. The project will benefit society by providing more effective processes for control of pollution and cleanup of environmental contaminants.