Dechlorination of 2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl by thermal reaction with activated carbon-supported copper or zinc

Abstract

Activated carbon (AC)-supported copper or zinc made from ion exchange resin (IRCu-C and IRZn-C) have an increased metal load of 557.3 mg∙g^-1 and 502.8 mg∙g^-1 compared to those prepared by the traditional method involving impregnation with AC and copper (II) citrate or zinc citrate solution (LaCu-C and LaZn-C) of 12.9 mg∙g^-1 and 46.0 mg∙g^-1 respectively. When applied to decompose 2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl at 250 °C, IRCu-C achieved higher activity of 99.0% decomposition efficiency than LaCu-C of 84.7%, IRZn-C of 90.5% and LaZn-C of 62.7%. When the reaction temperature rose to 350 °C, all the four kinds of reactants can decompose PCB-153 with efficiency above 90%. Further, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization of IRCu-C before and after the reaction indicated transformation of 19.1% of Cu atoms into Cu²⁺, illustrating that Cu is the active ingredient or electron donor promoting the decomposition of PCB-153. The mechanism underlying this process differs from a traditional H donor. However, there is no significant change on the surface of IRZn-C before and after the reaction, suggesting that Zn acts as catalyst during the process of PCB-153 decomposition.

Keywords

polychlorinated biphenyls / activated carbon-supported copper or zinc / dechlorination / electron donor

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21277010 and 51078013), Special Research Funding for Public Benefit Industries from National Ministry of Environmental Protection (No. 201209005), the National Science and Technology Support Program of China (No. 2010BAC66B04), and Key Laboratory for Advanced Technology in Environmental Protection of Jiangsu Province (No. AE201003).

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2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg