Catalytic wet air oxidation of aniline with nanocasted Mn-Ce-oxide catalyst

The catalytic wet air oxidation of aqueous solution containing 1000 ppm aniline was conducted in a trickle-bed reactor packed with a novel nanocasted Mn-Ce-oxide catalyst (surface area of 300 m²/g) prepared using SBA-15 silica as a hard template. A range of liquid hourly space velocities (5-20 h^-1) and temperatures (110-140°C) at 10 bar of oxygen were tested. The experiments were conducted to provide the intrinsic performance of the catalysts. Complete aniline conversion, 90% TOC conversion, and 80% nitrogen mineralization were achieved at 140°C and 5 h^-1. Blank experiments yielded relatively low homogeneous aniline (<35%) and negligible TOC conversions. Fast deactivation of the catalysts was experienced due to leaching caused by complexation with aniline. Acidification of the solution with HCl (molar HCl to aniline ratio of 1.2) was necessary to avoid colloidization and leaching of the nanoparticulate catalyst components. The catalyst displayed stable performance for over 200 h on stream.