Combustion of volatile organic compounds on a MnCu catalyst: A kinetic study

Catalytic combustion is a well-developed process to eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Although there is a continuous effort in formulating new catalytic materials, studies devoted to estimate kinetic parameters suitable for design and optimization of catalytic combustors are scarce. A kinetic study of ethanol combustion on an efficient catalyst identified as Mn9Cu1 is reported in this contribution. Ethanol is a typical VOC, which is found, for example, in effluents of printing industries. The study aims to develop reaction rate expressions and estimate kinetic parameters. The presence of only one intermediate, namely acetaldehyde, has been detected in significant amounts. Acetaldehyde turns out to react more slowly than ethanol. Experimental data were satisfactorily fitted employing LHHW type kinetic expressions. The estimated activation energy of ethanol oxidation lies in the range of values reported in the literature for similar catalysts.