Treatment of Circulating Water at Coke Plants by Catalytic Ozonolysis

Scientific principles for the ozonolytic treatment of circulating water at coke plants using zinc ferrite as the catalyst are developed. On adding 0.1 g of zinc ferrite to 50 mL of a phenol solution (concentration 1 g/L), the rate of destruction is doubled, with an ozone flux of 2.5 g/h. In the ozonolysis of circulating water, the initial colloidal structure of the sample breaks down. The characteristic destruction rate of phenolic compounds is found to be higher for circulating water than for an aqueous solution of phenol. The effective rate constant of phenol destruction in circulating water increases on adding zinc ferrite, but by a smaller amount than in an aqueous solution of phenol. That is associated with the need to oxidize the other organic compounds forming phenols in the initial stages. The proposed approach may be regarded as a promising means of reducing the energy consumption in ozonolysis and hence permitting the use of ozonolysis in decreasing the concentration of organic pollutants in the circulating water prior to biochemical treatment.