Investigation on removal of multi-component volatile organic compounds in a two-stage plasma catalytic oxidation system - Comparison of X (X=Cu, Fe, Ce and La) doped Mn2O3 catalysts

Abstract

Mn2O3-X catalysts (X = Cu, Fe, Ce and La) were prepared based on γ-Al2O3 for the mixture degradation of muti-component volatile organic compounds (VOCs) composed of toluene, acetone, and ethyl acetate. The catalysts were characterized, and the density functional theory (DFT) simulation of ozone adsorption on Mn2O3-X were carried out to investigate the influence of adsorption energy on catalytic performance. The results showed that the removal efficiency (RE) of each VOC component was similarly improved by Mn2O3-X catalysts, and the greatest increase in VOCs' removal efficiency was obtained (7.8% for toluene, 86.2% for acetone, and 82.5% for ethyl acetate) at a special input energy (SIE) of 700 J L−1 with Mn2O3–La catalyst. Characterization results demonstrated that Mn2O3–La catalyst had the highest content of low valence Mn elements and the greatest Oads/Olatt ratio, as well as the lowest reduction temperature. Mn2O3–La catalyst also presented superior catalytic effect in improving carbon balance (CB) and CO2 selectivity (SCO2). The CB and SCO2 were increased by 47.7% and 12.61% respectively with Mn2O3–La at a SIE of 400 J L−1 compared with that when only γ-Al2O3 was applied. The DFT simulation results of ozone adsorption on Mn2O3-X catalysts indicated that the adsorption energy of catalyst crystal was related to the catalytic performance of the catalyst. The Mn2O3–La/γ-Al2O3 catalyst, which had the highest absolute value of adsorption energy, presented the best performance in improving VOCs’ RE.