Pt/Zeolite Catalyst for the Treatment of High VOC-Containing Wastewater

Pd/SDB (Styrene Divinylbenzene Copolymer), a hydrophobic catalyst, has been used for the destruction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in wastewater. Although the catalysts performed well in low VOC concentrations, they were not as effective in high VOC concentrations because of the heat removal problem. On the other hand, Pt/Zeolite contains a high silica to alumina ratio, which gives it hydrophobic characteristics and allows it to endure significantly higher temperatures than Pd/SDB. Hence, they were chosen for the treatment of wastewater containing high VOC concentrations. As expected, the catalysts presented both high conversion rates and good stability maintenance. Because of their high stability and rapid regeneration, the catalysts were regarded to be promising for industrial applications. In this study, the noble metal content of Pt/Zeolite amounted to 1.5 wt.%, and that the different temperatures and pressures collocating with different weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) were used to test the VOCs conversion efficiency. The results showed that the best reduction temperature was 450°C below the temperature- programmed reduction (TPR) process. The reaction system consisted of a continuous dripping flow with a fix-bed system and proportional integral derivative (PID) temperature controller. Selected VOCs such as methanol, ethanol, propanol and formaldehyde were investigated over the catalyst. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the reagents and the potential organic intermediates was determined using gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (FID). The experimental results indicated that the reaction rate is inversely proportional to the molecular weight for the compounds with the same functional group. For the same molecular weight, aldehyde is easier to destroy than alcohol. Ethanol and propanol, atypical products of incomplete oxidation of alcohols, were detected in the reaction gas. To minimize the energy consumption, we preferred liquid phase reaction since the heat of reaction could maintain the reaction temperature.