ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Dechlorination is one of the promising methods to convert more toxic chlorinated aromatics into less toxic environmentally friendly value-added products. In this work catalytic hydrodechlorination is achieved with the aid of low-cost hydrogenation catalysts such as Raney nickel, bimetallic catalyst and palladium on activated carbon catalyst. Among them, Raney nickel shows the best result as it takes only a few hours to completely dechlorinate 1,4-dichlorobenzene to benzene. The detailed study on dechlorination using Raney nickel was made in this work. It is an economically feasible method for treating chlorinated pollutants in wastewater. Experiments were done with varying parameters like temperature, concentration, and pH. Dechlorination shows the best result at high temperature and lower pH. The product was confirmed using HPLC analysis and UV spectroscopy. Recycling of Raney nickel catalyst was also performed in this study. It was not possible to do more than two recycles due to poisoning of the catalyst.
