We have synthesised supported catalyst using a new green chemistry for the removal of pollutants from contaminated water. This method is environmentally-friendly, lower cost and faster than those currently used providing impact on cost and sustainability. Nitro-aromatic compounds (NACs) are common components of industrial effluents and used in mining industry causing a source of water contamination. The synthesised catalysts were used to chemically reduce nitrobenzene as a model compound. Batch experiments were conducted by varying the catalyst loading in order to determine the reaction kinetics. The rate of reduction of nitrobenzene was found to increase as the catalyst loading increased. However, the reduction of nitrobenzene did not follow traditional rate laws but could be described by the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) stretch-exponential model, which takes into account any inhomogeneity in the system. In order to correlate the structure of catalysts and their activity, SEM, EDXA, TGA and surface area analyses were performed.

Green catalysts for water decontamination

243rd National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.