Catalytic degradation of CH2O and C6H5CH2OH in wastewaters

The heterogeneous oxidation of benzyl alcohol and formaldehyde in aqueous medium has been investigated. The catalytic oxidation of these compounds is carried out in the presence of Ni-oxide system at ambient temperature. The results show that under studied conditions, a 90% conversion of CH2O to CO2 and a complete oxidation of C6H5CH2OH to C6H5COOH is achieved. Addition of H2SO4 to adjust pH to 2 further precipitates benzoic acid. The precipitate is filtered and the resulting filtrate is free of organic substances (COD is below 10 mg O2 dm−3). Based on the results obtained, a technology for purification of wastewaters containing benzyl alcohol as well as a catalytic method for degradation of CH2O in aqueous solutions have been developed.