Promoteur : Prof. Guy De Weireld

Co-promoteur : Prof. Nicolas Heymans

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Abstract (En)

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one of the main contributors to air pollution. To reduce anthropogenic emissions, it is necessary to improve existingtechniques such as catalytic oxidation through the development of new cost-effective catalysts. Although many studies deal with the development and testing of new materials, most are performed at laboratory scale,of which only a few study mixtures of VOCs.To assess their viability for industrial applications, further tests are required, namely, mixture tests at intermediate scale in relevant environment and extrapolated on an industrial scale. The catalytic performance of a new mixed oxide Co-Al-Ce was investigated towards the oxidation of the n-butanol and toluene on a semi-pilot scale (TRL4). Single component and mixture experiments were performed for several concentrations at a fixed flow rate. A commercial catalyst Pd/γ-Al2O3 was used asreference to evaluate the performance of the mixed oxide. The Co-Al-Ce catalyst enables complete oxidation of n-butanol at the same temperature as the reference catalyst. Moreover, it provides a better selectivity for n-butanol, while providing an equivalent one for the oxidation of toluene. In mixtures the presence of n-butanol promotes the oxidation of toluene for both catalysts but more significantly for the Co-Al-Ce catalyst. The presence of toluene inhibits the oxidation of n-butanol for the Co-Al-Ce and promotes it for high conversions of n-butanol for the Pd/γ-Al2O3 catalyst.To enable the advancement of the mathematical modelling for the case of toluene oxidation, experiments were performed at micro-pilot scale, revealing an agreement of performances between the different scales. Through mathematical modelling the reaction wasfound to follow the Mars van Krevelen mechanism. Its kinetic parameters were determined, which can later be used to predict these VOCs oxidation behaviour in other experimental conditions. Finally, the application of the Mars van Krevelen model for the oxidation of toluene, was tested in ASPEN Plus for industrial scale conditions, using GHSV values corresponding as well asthe experimentsvaluesin the semi-piloteas value closest to the typical valueat industrial scale, and flowrates of 30000 and 90000 Nm3.h-1(lowest and highest values provided by an industrial partner at the Interreg V/DepollutAir project)