Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering - Theses
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ItemAqueous-phase oxidation of brown-coal dewatering effluent using phenol as a model( 1982)Victorian-brown-coal dewatering effluent has been shown to contain quantities of phenol which would prevent its direct discharge to any water course. A proposal to oxidize this effluent, using oxygen, to less toxic compounds or more readily biodegradable material, has been investigated. A rapid-mixing stopped-flow apparatus, capable of examining the reaction between dissolved oxygen and aqueous phenol solutions under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure, has been designed and constructed. The phenol/oxygen reaction has been investigated at temperatures between 150°C and 225°C and under conditions of excess oxygen, excess phenol and near the stoichiometric ratio. An analytical system comprising a High-Performance Liquid Chromatograph has been developed and some reaction products not previously isolated from the phenol/oxygen reaction system have been identified. The experimental results have led to the development of a reaction pathway for phenol oxidation by oxygen. Reaction steps in the mechanism which are critical in determining the reaction product distributions and those that can be considered as rate limiting have been determined. The reaction pathway for oxidation of phenol by oxygen and published information for oxidation of phenol by ozone are used to develop a reaction pathway for ozone oxidation. The phenol/oxygen pathway is also used to propose several strategies for the operation of a brown-coal dewatering effluent treatment plant.