VOC removal by synergic effect of combustion catalyst and ozone

The synergic effects of the combustion catalyst Ba---CuO---Cr₂O₃/Al₂O₃ and ozone, used as strong oxidant species in the combustion of various VOCs, were studied. The experiments were performed with five different methods by feeding the organics with air (1000 ppmV) before (methods 2 and 4) and after the ozone generator (methods 1, 3 and 5), they entered into the catalytic reactor (methods 1, 2 and 3) or were directly analyzed (methods 4 and 5). The concentration profiles of the organics were compared as a function of the reaction temperature (from 100 to 500°C) for the methods 1, 2 and 3 and as a function of the peak voltage of the ozone generator (2–10 kV), that is the ozone concentration (up to 2000 ppm) for methods 4 and 5. Ozone strongly reacted in the gas phase with aromatic molecules and organics having functional groups. Moreover, a positive ionizing effect produced by the corona discharge in the ozone generator on the destruction of the organics was found too.