Catalyst screening for acetone removal in a single-stage plasma-catalysis system

• Plasma-catalytic removal of acetone over MOx/γ-Al2O3 catalysts is investigated.
• Placing catalysts in the plasma enhances acetone removal and CO2 selectivity.
• Combining plasma with MOx/γ-Al2O3 catalysts reduces the formation of by-products.
• CuOx/γ-Al2O3 catalyst shows the best plasma-catalytic performance in this study.
• The reducibility of catalysts plays an important role in the removal of acetone.

Plasma-catalytic removal of acetone over MOx/γ-Al2O3 (M = Ce, Co, Cu, Mn and Ni) catalysts has been investigated in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. The influence of different catalysts on the plasma-catalytic process has been examined in terms of acetone removal efficiency, CO2 selectivity and the formation of by-products. The combination of plasma with the MOx/γ-Al2O3 catalysts significantly enhances the removal efficiency of acetone and CO2 selectivity, whilst substantially reducing the formation of by-products (HCHO and HCOOH). The maximum removal efficiency of 94.2% and CO2 selectivity of 80.1% were achieved when using the CuOx/γ-Al2O3 catalyst. Introducing the CuOx/γ-Al2O3 catalyst into the plasma system also shows the lowest formation of by-products. Different catalyst characterization techniques have been used to understand the effect of catalyst properties on the plasma reactions. It has been found that the reducibility of the MOx/γ-Al2O3 catalysts plays a dominant role in the plasma-catalytic oxidation of acetone, whilst the specific surface area and pore properties of the catalysts have a very weak effect on the performance of the plasma-catalytic reaction. In addition, a simplified kinetic model has been developed, showing the effect of different catalysts on the acceleration of the plasma-catalytic removal of acetone.

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