COMBUSTION OF VOLATILE ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS OVER PLATINUM-BASED CATALYTIC MEMBRANES

A study of the deep catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contained in air streams on catalytic membrane tubes is present ed. The complete combustion of toluene and methyl ethyl ketone as sing le components and in binary mixtures, with concentrations between 100 and 7000 ppm, was achieved by permeating the VOC-containing stream thr ough a Pt/gamma-Al2O3 catalytic membrane operating under the Knudsen d iffusion regime. The membrane combustor performed efficiently, allowin g total VOC destruction at low temperatures. In addition, substantial changes in the gas feedrate were accommodated, with only a small varia tion in the combustion temperatures required. A discussion is presente d regarding the ability of the flow-through membrane combustor to atta in a lower mass-transfer resistance than a conventional catalytic reac tor.