Structured catalysts for photo-Fenton oxidation of acetic acid

In this work photo-Fenton oxidation of acetic acid, was carried out on perovskites based structured catalysts, in the presence or in the absence of low amounts of Pt. Homogeneous photo-Fenton reaction by ferrioxalate complex has been also performed. The comparison of homogeneous and heterogeneous photo-Fenton oxidation indicates that the use of a heterogeneous structured catalyst greatly improves the total organic carbon (TOC) removal and leads to a more effective use of H2O2. The rate of TOC removal during the runtime decreased because of the occurring side H2O2 decomposition to O2 that subtracts the oxidant to the photo-Fenton reaction. Moreover it allows enlarging the pH range of operation without the formation of sludge or significant metal leaching. LaFeO3 and Pt/LaMnO3 resulted the best catalysts for this process in terms of reaction rate.