Modifications of the adsorption-catalytic system for organic impurities removal

The study was dedicated to optimization of the adsorption-catalytic process for abatement of volatile organic compounds (VOC), combining the adsorption of VOC at ambient temperature in the bed of the oxidation catalyst with the periodical regeneration of the catalyst by oxidation of adsorbed species at elevated temperature. The detailed mathematical model, accounting for occurrence of unsteady-state adsorption and oxidation reactions, heat and mass transfer process both in the catalyst bed and the catalyst pellets, was constructed. The good quality of the model was verified by bench experiments. The process simulation has confirmed the high efficiency of the new versions of the adsorption-catalytic processes: the process with the startup heater located directly inside the catalyst bed and the process with the system of parallel beds with non-simultaneous regeneration; these approaches give the way to significantly decrease the specific energy consumption and to level off the peaks of VOC outlet content and outlet gas temperature. The optimal values of process parameters were defined in the study. The developed process may be applied for VOC abatement in different waste gases, being especially advantageous in terms of energy consumption and operation flexibility in processing of lean vent gases with high flow rate.