CATALYTIC PROCESSING FOR REDUCTION OF VOC EMISSIONS

Efforts are underway to define environmental control schemes for proce sses that generate volatile organic (VOC) waste, the objective being t o simultaneously ensure economic viability with ecological benignancy. Zero-emission manufacturing facilities are the ultimate goal. Catalys is has already been shown to play a significant role in control of emi ssions of gaseous pollutants from automobiles and electric power plant s; effective pollution-abatement catalysts are now being developed to meet strict environmental regulations. The potential benefit of cataly sis applied to VOC-generated processes is that organic waste streams c an be eliminated almost at the point of generation, via combustion. A small-scale laboratory set-up is being utilized as a benchmark for a f easibility study, to characterize the efficacy of this environmental c ontrol, thus providing preliminary data for optimization, scale-up cri teria and guidelines for implementation. Results from this research wi ll be discussed as a case-study of the manner in which ''design-for-en vironment'' concepts are being integrated into industrial processes.