II International Symposium on Carbon for Catalysis ABSTRACTS

OP-<strong>II</strong>-1
Carbone Lorraine Ltd. The catalyst (Fe(NO 3 ) 3 ,6H 2 O) was deposited onto alumina so that the
iron weight% is 20%, then it is calcinated at 350°C, and last reduced in situ under hydrogen
flow at 400°C. The constraint synthesis allows a significant increase of the apparent density
without any need of post-treatment or foreign agent addition as usually reported in the
literature. This apparent density after synthesis under constraint is typically close to
200 kg/m 3 . The shaped carbon nanotube pieces display a mechanical resistance high enough
tobe handled without any breakage or significant fine formation.
The as-synthesized self-supported MWNTs were used as a selective and reversible
adsorber for the removal of organic pollutants from water. The experiment was carried out
with a mixture of water containing 10 vol.% of benzene. In contact with the solution, the
carbon material totally ad- or absorbed the benzene. The pollutant can be released by plunging
the MWNTs into an acetone (or ethanol) bath. The most surprising is the fact that if this
piece is plunged again in a solution of water with benzene at its surface, the benzene is ad – or
-absorbed again with a removal of acetone. Similar “depollution” phenomena were observed
with other water pollutants than benzene like gas-oil.
A
B
Figure 1: A. Picture of the self-supported MWNTs, B. SEM picture of self-supported MWNTs after
HNO 3 and NaOH washing.
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