Role of water and other H-rich additives in the catalytic combustion of 1,2-dichloroethane and trichloroethylene

Recent advances in the abatement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and chlorinated-VOCs by non-thermal plasma technology: A review

Most of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and especially the chlorinated volatile organic compounds (Cl-VOCs), are regarded as major pollutants due to their properties of volatility, diffusivity and toxicity which pose a significant threat to human health and the eco-environment. Catalytic degradation of VOCs and Cl-VOCs to harmless products is a promising approach to mitigate the issues caused by VOCs and Cl-VOCs. Non-thermal plasma (NTP) assisted catalysis is a promising technology for the efficient degradation of VOCs and Cl-VOCs with higher selectivity under relatively mild conditions compared with conventional thermal catalysis. This review summarises state-of-the-art research of the in plasma catalysis (IPC) of VOCs degradation from three major aspects including: (i) the design of catalysts, (ii) the strategies of deep catalytic degradation and by-products inhibition, and (iii) the fundamental research into mechanisms of NTP activated catalytic VOCs degradation. Particular attention is also given to Cl-VOCs due to their characteristic properties of higher stability and toxicity. The catalysts used for the degradation Cl-VOCs, chlorinated by-products formation and the degradation mechanism of Cl-VOCs are systematically reviewed in each chapter. Finally, a perspective on future challenges and opportunities in the development of NTP assisted VOCs catalytic degradation were discussed.

Comparative Investigation on Chlorobenzene Oxidation by Oxygen and Ozone over a MnOx/Al2O3 Catalyst in the Presence of SO2

Catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) usually encounters complicated components in flue gas causing severe deactivation that restrict its application in specific conditions. The Cl substitution in chlorobenzene further increases poisoning risks. Ozone assistance has unique superiority that can overcome these bottleneck problems. Herein, this study performs a comparative investigation of CB oxidation by oxygen and ozone over a simple Mn/Al₂O₃ catalyst. CB conversion suffered from slight deactivation in oxygen atmosphere (from 90 to 70%) and more severe deactivation in the presence of SO₂ (from 90 to 45%) at 480 °C. Introduction of ozone successfully attained high CB conversion at low temperature (120 °C) with excellent stability and less byproducts. Especially, CB oxidation by ozone maintained its original conversion in the presence of SO₂. The deactivation process was simulated by synthesizing several sulfated catalysts. Direct sulfation on Mn/Al₂O₃ attained more severe deactivation in CB conversion and CO₂ formation than sulfation on the Al₂O₃ support. Ozone with a strong oxidation property promoted the CB oxidation cycle, facilitated desorption of carbonaceous intermediates, and protected MnO_x species from severe erosion, thus exhibiting high and stable performance in CB oxidation.

Catalytic Oxidation of Chlorinated Organics over Lanthanide Perovskites: Effects of Phosphoric Acid Etching and Water Vapor on Chlorine Desorption Behavior

In this article, the underlying effect of phosphoric acid etching and additional water vapor on chlorine desorption behavior over a model catalyst La₃Mn₂O₇ was explored. Acid treatment led to the formation of LaPO₄ and enhanced the mobility of lattice oxygen of La₃Mn₂O₇ evidenced by a range of characterization (i.e., X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed analyses, NH₃-IR, etc.). The former introduced thermally stable Brönsted acidic sites that enhanced dichloromethane (DCM) hydrolysis while the latter facilitated desorption of accumulated chlorine at elevated temperatures. The acid-modified catalyst displayed a superior catalytic activity in DCM oxidation compared to the untreated sample, which was ascribed to the abundance of proton donors and Mn(IV) species. The addition of water vapor to the reaction favored the formation and desorption of HCl and avoided surface chlorination at low temperatures. This resulted in a further reduction in reaction temperature under humid conditions ( T₉₀ of 380 °C for the modified catalyst). These results provide an in-depth interpretation of chlorine desorption behavior for DCM oxidation, which should aid the future design of industrial catalysts for the durable catalytic combustion of chlorinated organics.

Promotional effect of doping Cu into cerium-titanium binary oxides catalyst for deep oxidation of gaseous dichloromethane

In recent years, significant effort has been made in the development of novel catalysts for the total oxidation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds. In this work the catalytic activity of Cu doped cerium-titanium binary oxides for the oxidation of dichloromethane (DCM) have been studied for the first time. Combining catalysts characterization and activity data, it was found that Cu ions can uniformly disperse into titanium dioxide to form solid solution and induce the creation of additional surface oxygen species on the catalysts surface, while moderate amount of Ce ions are still needed for the activation of CCl. Detailed analysis of the in-situ FTIR experiment results revealed that the surface oxygen species, especially the hydroxyl groups associated with Cu ions, can promote the deep oxidation of the intermediate species formed in the nucleophilic substitution process occurred on the active sites of catalysts surface. The sample with the Cu/Ce molar ratio of 1:3 obtained a better CO₂ selectivity than that reached with cerium-titanium binary oxides. Meanwhile, according to element balance analysis, removal of chlorine from the catalyst surface was also promoted by Cu doping.

Total Oxidation of Dichloromethane over Silica Modified Alumina Catalysts Washcoated on Ceramic Monoliths

Silica modified alumina was used in this study for coating of a cordierite monolith substrate with two different channel densities. The performance of the prepared monolith catalysts was evaluated in catalytic total oxidation of dichloromethane before and after Pt impregnation. The characteristics similar to the powder form catalysts were kept rather successfully after washcoating the monolith as evidenced by electron microscopy (FESEM) and N2 physisorption. A dichloromethane (DCM) conversion of higher than 80% at 500 °C was reached over all the catalysts with 200 cpsi. The maximum conversion was obtained with the catalyst containing 10 mol % of silica. The total amount of major byproducts (CO, CH3Cl and CH2O) were slightly decreased by increasing the silica loading, and remarkably after Pt impregnation. After impregnation of Pt, the HCl yields were increased for two samples with the higher loading of silica (10 and 15 mol %) and reached the maximum when silica loading was 10%. Even though Pt impregnation did not significantly affect the DCM conversion, it improved the selectivity. Comparison between the two substrates (200 and 600 cpsi) evidenced that the key parameters of the monolith influencing the DCM oxidation are low value of open fraction area, hydraulic diameter, thermal integrity factor and high value of mechanical integrity factor and geometric surface area.

La-, Mn- and Fe-Doped Zirconia Washcoats Deposited on Monolithic Reactors via Sol-Gel Method: Characterization and Evaluation of their Mass Transfer Phenomena and Kinetics in Trichloroethylene Combustion

La-, Mn- and Fe-doped ZrO2 was synthesized using the sol-gel method, washcoated on cordierite monoliths and used in trichloroethylene (TCE) combustion. A sol from sol-gel synthesis method was used to obtain the zirconia washcoatings. The washcoatings deposited on the cordierite monolith materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and N2 physisorption measurements, being the crystalline phase determination the most correlate with the catalytic activity. The washcoat properties were correlated to their performance in trichloroethylene combustion. The catalytic washcoatings contained a mixture of crystalline tetragonal ZrO2 and monoclinic ZrO2, and the monoclinic phase exhibited strong interactions with the α-cordierite crystalline phase. For the kinetic tests, the mass transfer into the washcoated monolith channels was evaluated using a recently developed model for the internal mass transfer coefficients for diffusion and reactions in catalytic monoliths. This model involves three resistances. In a plot of the overall resistance as function of the Thiele modulus was determinate that he reaction occurred in the kinetically controlled regime. The kinetic data were fit to two Langmuir–Hinshelwood (LH) models, and the reaction rate was fitted as a function of the trichloroethylene inlet concentration. The adsorption parameters obtained with both LH models were validated based on thermodynamic criteria for the changes in the standard enthalpy of adsorption(${\Delta}H_{ads}^0$) and standard total entropy of adsorption (${\Delta}S_{ads}^0$). It was found that adsorbed TCE and oxygen atoms should be more mobile over the catalyst, which had a higher proportion of tetragonal phase than monoclinic phase of zirconia. The La, Fe-doped catalyst exhibited the highest activity, mainly due the presence of tetragonal zirconia.

State of the art in catalytic oxidation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds

Chlorine-containing organic compounds (Cl-VOC) require special attention due to their distinct toxicity, high stability and persistence in the environment. Removal of Cl-VOC by catalytic oxidation over a wide variety of catalysts has been presented in literature. This paper reviews the state of the art in this subject, including different model compounds, nature of catalysts, and oxidation activity. Catalyst selectivity (CO2 vs. CO and HCl vs. Cl2), by-products formation and the causes of deactivation are also analyzed as the most important factors in the catalyst selection for practical applications.

The destruction of dichloroethane over a gamma-alumina supported manganese oxide catalyst

Halogenated VOCs emissions are associated to a wide range of industrial processes; for instance, dichloroethane (DCEA) is mainly used in metal degreasing processes and known to be hazardous to the environment and public health. The effects of operating parameters on the catalytic incineration of DCEA over the Mn(2)O(3)/gamma-Al(2)O(3) catalyst were performed in this study. The results show that conversion of DCEA increases as inlet temperature and oxygen concentration increase, and decreases with the increases of DCEA concentration and space velocity. The effects of O(2) and DCEA content in carrier gas on the catalytic reaction rate are also observed. Experimental results indicate that the oxidation kinetic behavior of DCEA with the catalyst can be expressed by using the rate expression of the power rate law. The experimental results are compared with those predicted from the kinetic model. The products and reactants distributions from the oxidation of DCEA over Mn(2)O(3)/gamma-Al(2)O(3) were observed. The results show that the DCEA conversion starts from 15% at 450K and rises to 100% in the 700-800K ranges and the CO(2) yield is complete (100%) in the same temperature ranges. HCl and Cl(2) are the other main products with little halogenated VOC intermediates.