Preparation and properties of Cu-Ni bimetallic oxide catalyst supported on activated carbon for microwave assisted catalytic wet hydrogen peroxide oxidation for biologically pretreated coal chemical industry wastewater treatment.

A microwave (MW)-assisted catalytic wet hydrogen peroxide oxidation (CWHPO) process was investigated to treat biologically pretreated coal chemical industry wastewater (CCIW) in this study. The activated carbon (AC) supported Cu-Ni bimetallic oxide catalyst was prepared by impregnation and precipitation method for MWCWHPO. The catalytic performance of the catalyst was investigated, and the main influencing factors were discussed. The results showed that the removal efficiencies of quinoline and total organic carbon (TOC) with catalyst prepared by impregnation method were 85% and 70%, respectively, and the removal efficiencies of quinoline and TOC with catalyst prepared by precipitation method were up to 95% and 76%, respectively. The utilization rate of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the generation quantity of hydroxyl radicals were higher in the reaction process with the catalyst prepared by precipitation method than those with the catalyst prepared by impregnation method. The characterization of the catalyst showed that the smaller active component grains size, larger surface area and higher proportion of chemical adsorption oxygen were the main reason for the high catalytic efficiency. Furthermore, the optimized reaction conditions were: reaction temperature of 60 °C, microwave power of 500 W, and H2O2 initial concentration of 0.066 M. Moreover, the Cu-Ni bimetallic oxide catalyst is an efficient and stable catalyst in the degradation and mineralization of pollutants in the MWCWHPO process. The synthesized catalyst was verified to be attractive for use in the heterogeneous wet peroxide oxidation system under microwave irradiation.