Self oscillatory behaviour in N2O decomposition over Co-ZSM-5 catalysts

Isothermal oscillations developed during N2O decomposition over Co-ZSM-5 catalysts with different Si/Al ratios have been investigated. Spontaneous oscillations were observed between 350 and 450 °C. The maximum amplitude has been obtained for the catalysts having Si/Al of 40 and 50. The activation energies of the obtained oscillations were calculated in respect to cobalt concentration. The results showed that the Ea values increase linearly with an increasing Si/Al ratio of the zeolite. For Co-ZSM-5 catalyst (Si/Al = 25), increasing cobalt content in the catalyst led to a decrease in the frequency as well as the amplitude of the oscillations. Meanwhile, the increase in the Ea values was observed. The calculated reaction rate was found to be first order with respect to nitrous oxide concentration. Moreover, the developed oscillations were found to be sensitive to inlet N2O concentration, catalyst weight and milling time duration. Decreasing the N2O inlet concentration as well as the catalyst weight and increasing the milling time would lead to a quenching of the developed oscillations.