Microwave-absorbing property, chemical adsorption, and catalytic activity of monolithic LamMnnOx catalyst in microwave catalytic combustion of toluene

Abstract

To verify the catalytic activity of LamMnnOx (m,n = 1,2; x = 2.5 ∼ 5.5) catalyst in microwave catalytic combustion of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), monolithic LamMnnOx catalysts were prepared and applied in toluene oxidation in this study. The research demonstrated that the LamMnnOx catalysts had strong microwave-absorbing properties due to first dielectric loss and secondary magnetic loss. The bed temperature rose rapidly due to the formation of hotspots under microwave irradiation. Furthermore, LamMnnOx catalysts chiefly adsorbed toluene by chemical adsorption, and the adsorption capacity of Mn was much stronger than that of La. Based on the activity tests, La1Mn1Ox (x = 2.5 ∼ 3.5) catalyst exhibited the highest catalytic activity among the four catalysts, and toluene was converted and mineralized completely at 259 ℃ and 315 ℃, respectively, under the conditions of an initial toluene concentration of 1000 mg/m3, bed height of 150 mm, and gas velocity of 2.5 L/min. Highly active LaMnO3 perovskite, uniform distribution of active particles, and abundant oxygen vacancies ensured the high activity of the La1Mn1Ox catalyst. Hence, the La1Mn1Ox catalyst was stable after a total of 600 min of activity test. According to electron transfers on the active Mn surface, the adsorption and activation of gaseous oxygen, and the transformation of Oads to Olatt on the oxygen vacancies, toluene oxidation speculates to follow the Langmuir-Hinshelwood and the Mars-van Krevelen mechanisms simultaneously. Therefore, this work provides further technological support for applying LamMnnOx catalysts in microwave catalytic combustion of industrial VOCs waste gas.