Catalytic oxidation of benzene using nano-CuO/γ-Al2O3 and commercial catalysts

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as benzene are among the most dangerous air pollutants emitted by chemical industry stacks, as they may contribute to environment and health issues. Lean catalytic oxidation of benzene has been considered as most proper method to abate it from the flue gas. This work developed nano-based copper oxide catalysts for lean oxidation of benzene. The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity performance of the nano-based copper oxide catalyst and compare to commercial catalyst. On the basis of the commercial catalyst, this study was also aimed to determine the reaction rate and its kinetic parameter. The oxidation of benzene was conducted in a fixed bed reactor at 300°C, 1 atm, and GHSV of 15,000 h−1. The concentration of benzene in the feed and product were measured using online gas detector (Cosmos Gas Detector). The catalyst activity of nano-based copper oxide catalysts showed 20-30% conversion of benzene, while for commercial catalyst showed 86%. The reaction rate determination for first order reaction of benzene indicated that the activation energy was 48 kJ/mol with Arrhenius constant of 3×104 s−1.