Catalytic activity of nanometer La1−Sr CoO3 (x= 0, 0.2) perovskites towards VOCs combustion

Role of La-based perovskite catalysts in environmental pollution remediation

Since the advent of the industrial revolution, there has been a constant need of efficient catalysts for abatement of industrial toxic pollutants. This phenomenon necessitated the development of eco-friendly, stable, and economically feasible catalytic materials like lanthanum-based perovskite-type oxides (PTOs) having well-defined crystal structure, excellent thermal, and structural stability, exceptional ionic conductivity, redox behavior, and high tunability. In this review, applicability of La-based PTOs in remediation of pollutants, including CO, NO x and VOCs was addressed. A framework for rationalizing reaction mechanism, substitution effect, preparation methods, support, and catalyst shape has been discussed. Furthermore, reactant conversion efficiencies of best PTOs have been compared with noble-metal catalysts for each application. The catalytic properties of the perovskites including electronic and structural properties have been extensively presented. We highlight that a robust understanding of electronic structure of PTOs will help develop perovskite catalysts for other environmental applications involving oxidation or redox reactions.

Approach to the Characterization of Monolithic Catalysts Based on La Perovskite-like Oxides and Their Application for VOC Oxidation under Simulated Indoor Environment Conditions

Catalysts are very important in controlling the pollutant emissions and are used for hundreds of chemical processes. Currently, noble metal-based catalysts are being replaced for other kinds of materials. In this study, three lanthanum-based perovskite-like oxides were synthesized (LaCo, LaCoMn, and LaMn) by the glycine-combustion method. The powder catalysts obtained were supported onto cordierite ceramic monoliths using an optimized washcoating methodology to obtain the subsequent monolithic catalysts (LaCo-S, LaCoMn-S, and LaMn-S). Sample characterization confirmed the formation of the perovskite-like phase in the powder materials as well as the presence of the perovskite phase after supporting it onto the monolithic structure. The XPS analysis showed a general decrease in lattice oxygen species for monolithic catalysts, mainly caused by the colloidal silica used as a binder agent during the washcoating process. Additionally, some variations in the oxidation state distribution for elements in Co-containing systems suggest a stronger interaction between cordierite and such catalysts. The catalytic activity results indicated that powder and monolithic catalysts were active for single-component VOC oxidation in the following order: 2-propanol > n-hexane ≅ mixture > toluene, and there was no evidence of loss of catalytic activity after supporting the catalysts. However, LaMn-S had a better catalytic performance for all VOC tested under dry conditions, achieving oxidation temperatures between 230–420 °C. The oxidation efficiency for the VOC mixture was strongly affected by the presence of moisture linking the oxidation efficiency at wet conditions to the VOC chemical nature. Additionally, for higher VOC concentrations, the catalyst efficiency decreased due to the limited number of active sites.

Development of Pharmaceutical VOCs Elimination by Catalytic Processes in China

As a byproduct of emerging as one of the world’s key producers of pharmaceuticals, China is now challenged by the emission of harmful pharmaceutical VOCs. In this review, the catalogue and volume of VOCs emitted by the pharmaceutical industry in China was introduced. The commonly used VOC removal processes and technologies was recommended by some typical examples. The progress of catalytic combustion, photocatalytic oxidation, non-thermal plasma, and electron beam treatment were presented, especially the development of catalysts. The advantages and shortages of these technologies in recent years were discussed and analyzed. Lastly, the development of VOCs elimination technologies and the most promising technology were discussed.

Towards Mechanistic Understanding of Liquid-Phase Cinnamyl Alcohol Oxidation with tert-Butyl Hydroperoxide over Noble-Metal-Free LaCo1-x Fex O3 Perovskites

Noble-metal-free perovskite oxides are promising and well-known catalysts for high-temperature gas-phase oxidation reactions, but their application in selective oxidation reactions in the liquid phase has rarely been studied. We report the liquid-phase oxidation of cinnamyl alcohol over spray-flame synthesized LaCo_1-x Fe_x O₃ perovskite nanoparticles with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as the oxidizing agent under mild reaction conditions. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, EDS and elemental analysis. LaCo_0.8 Fe_0.2 O₃ showed the best catalytic properties indicating a synergistic effect between cobalt and iron. The catalysts were found to be stable against metal leaching as proven by hot filtration, and the observed slight deactivation is presumably due to segregation as determined by EDS. Kinetic studies revealed an apparent activation energy of 63.6 kJ mol^-1 . Combining kinetic findings with TBHP decomposition as well as control experiments revealed a complex reaction network.

Removal of VOCs from gas streams with double perovskite-type catalysts

Double perovskite-type catalysts including La₂CoMnO₆ and La₂CuMnO₆ are first evaluated for the effectiveness in removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and single perovskites (LaCoO₃, LaMnO₃, and LaCuO₃) are also tested for comparison. All perovskites are tested with the gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 30,000hr^-1, and the temperature range of 100-600°C for C₇H₈ removal. Experimental results indicate that double perovskites have better activity if compared with single perovskites. Especially, toluene (C₇H₈) can be completely oxidized to CO₂ at 300°C as La₂CoMnO₆ is applied. Characterization of catalysts indicates that double perovskites own unique surface properties and are of higher amounts of lattice oxygen, leading to higher activity. Additionally, apparent activation energy of 68kJ/mol is calculated using Mars-van Krevelen model for C₇H₈ oxidation with La₂CoMnO₆ as catalyst. For durability test, both La₂CoMnO₆ and La₂CuMnO₆ maintain high C₇H₈ removal efficiencies of 100% and 98%, respectively, at 300°C and 30,000hr^-1, and they also show good resistance to CO₂ (5%) and H₂O_(g) (5%) of the gas streams tested. For various VOCs including isopropyl alcohol (C₃H₈O), ethanal (C₂H₄O), and ethylene (C₂H₄) tested, as high as 100% efficiency could be achieved with double perovskite-type catalysts operated at 300-350°C, indicating that double perovskites are promising catalysts for VOCs removal.

Catalytic removal of phenol from gas streams by perovskite-type catalysts

Three perovskite-type catalysts prepared by citric acid method are applied to remove phenol from gas streams with the total flow rate of 300mL/min, corresponding to a GHSV of 10,000/hr. LaMnO₃ catalyst is first prepared and further partially substituted with Sr and Cu to prepare La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ and La_0.8Sr_0.2Mn_0.8Cu_0.2O₃, and catalytic activities and fundamental characteristics of these three catalysts are compared. The results show that phenol removal efficiency achieved with La_0.8Sr_0.2Mn_0.8Cu_0.2O₃ reaches 100% with the operating temperature of 200°C and the rate of mineralization at 300°C is up to 100%, while the phenol removal efficiencies achieved with La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ and LaMnO₃ are up to 100% with the operating temperature of 300°C and 400°C, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis shows that the addition of Sr and Cu increases the lattice oxygen of La_0.8Sr_0.2Mn_0.8Cu_0.2O₃, and further increases mobility or availability of lattice oxygen. The results indicate that La_0.8Sr_0.2Mn_0.8Cu_0.2O₃ has the best activity for phenol removal among three catalysts prepared and the catalytic activity of phenol oxidation is enhanced by the introduction of Sr and Cu into LaMnO₃. Apparent activation energy of 48kJ/mol is calculated by Mars-Van Krevelen Model for phenol oxidation with La_0.8Sr_0.2Mn_0.8Cu_0.2O₃ as catalyst.

Cu-Mn-Ce ternary mixed-oxide catalysts for catalytic combustion of toluene

Cu-Mn, Cu-Mn-Ce, and Cu-Ce mixed-oxide catalysts were prepared by a citric acid sol-gel method and then characterized by XRD, BET, H2-TPR and XPS analyses. Their catalytic properties were investigated in the toluene combustion reaction. Results showed that the Cu-Mn-Ce ternary mixed-oxide catalyst with 1:2:4 mole ratios had the highest catalytic activity, and 99% toluene conversion was achieved at temperatures below 220°C. In the Cu-Mn-Ce catalyst, a portion of Cu and Mn species entered into the CeO2 fluorite lattice, which led to the formation of a ceria-based solid solution. Excess Cu and Mn oxides existed on the surface of the ceria-based solid solution. The coexistence of Cu-Mn mixed oxides and the ceria-based solid solution resulted in a better synergetic interaction than the Cu-Mn and Cu-Ce catalysts, which promoted catalyst reducibility, increased oxygen mobility, and enhanced the formation of abundant active oxygen species.

Modeling preparation condition and composition-activity relationship of perovskite-type LaxSr1-xFeyCo1-yO3 nano catalyst

In this paper, an artificial neural network (ANN) is first applied to perovskite catalyst design. A series of perovskite-type oxides with the LaxSr1-xFeyCo1-yO3 general formula were prepared with a sol-gel autocombustion method under different preparation conditions. A three-layer perceptron neural network was used for modeling and optimization of the catalytic combustion of toluene. A high R2 value was obtained for training and test sets of data: 0.99 and 0.976, respectively. Due to the presence of full active catalysts, there was no necessity to use an optimizer algorithm. The optimum catalysts were La0.9Sr0.1Fe0.5Co0.5O3 (Tc=700 and 800 °C and [citric acid/nitrate]=0.750), La0.9Sr0.1Fe0.82Co0.18O3 (Tc=700 °C, [citric acid/nitrate]=0.750), and La0.8Sr0.2Fe0.66Co0.34O3 (Tc=650 °C, [citric acid/nitrate]=0.525) exhibiting 100% conversion for toluene. More evaluation of the obtained model revealed the relative importance and criticality of preparation parameters of optimum catalysts. The structure, morphology, reducibility, and specific surface area of catalysts were investigated with XRD, SEM, TPR, and BET, respectively.

Research on the Catalytic Activity of MnyCezOx/TiO2 for Ethyl Acetate Oxidation

Manganese and cerium based catalysts with different Mn/Ce molar ratios prepared by impregnation method for ethyl acetate oxidation. The activity tests of the samples were performed in a fixed-bed reactor. The effect of gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) and ethyl acetate concentration on the catalytic activity of the catalyst were also investigated. The results showed that these catalysts had high activity for the catalytic oxidation of ethyl acetate, of which the catalyst Mn0.9Ce0.1Ox/TiO2exhibitedthe bestactivity, and the temperature required for 90% conversion of ethyl acetate was at 216 °C. The catalyst Mn0.9Ce0.1Ox/TiO2still maintained high activity in the range of GHSV (16,500 to 48,500 h-1) and ethyl acetate concentration (4526 to 7092 mg/m3). In additional, experiments for measuring stability of Mn0.9Ce0.1Ox/TiO2were carried out, and experimental results showed that the good stability of Mn0.9Ce0.1Ox/TiO2was kept after it has run for 25 hours.

Recovery of manganese oxides from spent alkaline and zinc-carbon batteries. An application as catalysts for VOCs elimination

Manganese, in the form of oxide, was recovered from spent alkaline and zinc-carbon batteries employing a biohydrometallurgy process, using a pilot plant consisting in: an air-lift bioreactor (containing an acid-reducing medium produced by an Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans bacteria immobilized on elemental sulfur); a leaching reactor (were battery powder is mixed with the acid-reducing medium) and a recovery reactor. Two different manganese oxides were recovered from the leachate liquor: one of them by electrolysis (EMO) and the other by a chemical precipitation with KMnO4 solution (CMO). The non-leached solid residue was also studied (RMO). The solids were compared with a MnOx synthesized in our laboratory. The characterization by XRD, FTIR and XPS reveal the presence of Mn2O3 in the EMO and the CMO samples, together with some Mn(4+) cations. In the solid not extracted by acidic leaching (RMO) the main phase detected was Mn3O4. The catalytic performance of the oxides was studied in the complete oxidation of ethanol and heptane. Complete conversion of ethanol occurs at 200°C, while heptane requires more than 400°C. The CMO has the highest oxide selectivity to CO2. The results show that manganese oxides obtained using spent alkaline and zinc-carbon batteries as raw materials, have an interesting performance as catalysts for elimination of VOCs.

Chemical-physical properties of spinel CoMn2O4 nano-powders and catalytic activity in the 2-propanol and toluene combustion: Effect of the preparation method

Spinel-type CoMn(2)O(4)nano-powders are prepared using sol-gel auto combustion (SGC) and co-precipitation (CP) methods and their catalytic activities are evaluated in combustion of 2-propanol and toluene. The chemical-physical properties of the oxides are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), N(2)-adsorption-desorption, temperature programmed reduction (TPR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After calcination at 700°C, CoMn(2)O(4)-SGC shows higher amounts of the normal-type spinel phase and is more crystalline than CoMn(2)O(4)-CP. Higher calcination temperatures (850°C) do not affect very much the weight percentage of the normal-type spinel phase; although the crystal size slightly increased. The TPR analysis evidences a large number of Mn(3+) cations in CoMn(2)O(4)-SGC compared to CoMn(2)O(4)-CP. This difference, together with the higher surface area, could justify the higher activity of CoMn(2)O(4)-SGC in both the investigated reactions.

Total oxidation of toluene on Pt/CeO2-ZrO2-Bi2O3/gamma-Al2O3 catalysts prepared in the presence of polyvinyl pyrrolidone

Pt/CeO(2)-ZrO(2)-Bi(2)O(3)/gamma-Al(2)O(3) (Pt/CZB/Al(2)O(3)) catalysts for the catalytic combustion of toluene, which is one of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs), were prepared by the wet impregnation method in the presence of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP). X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and BET specific surface area measurement using N(2) adsorption have been used to characterize the catalysts. The catalytic test was conducted from room temperature in a flow of 900 ppm of toluene in air and gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 8000 h(-1). The catalytic activity was evaluated in terms of C(7)H(8) conversion and the gas composition after the reaction was analyzed using two gas chromatographs with a flame ionization detector (FID) and a thermal conductivity detector (TCD). The Pt/CZB/Al(2)O(3) catalysts are specific for the total toluene oxidation and CO and any toluene-derivative compounds were not detected as by-products. The specific surface area of the catalysts was increased by the addition of PVP in the preparation process. By the optimization of the amount of platinum, complete oxidation of toluene was realized at a temperature as low as 120 degrees C on a 7 wt%Pt/16 wt%Ce(0.64)Zr(0.15)Bi(0.21)O(1.895)/gamma-Al(2)O(3) catalyst.