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Abstract
Catalytic ozonation of volatile organic co mpounds (VOCs) using wood fly ash (WFA), an inexpensive waste material, was demonstrat ed. The kinetics of oz onation of propanal (a model VOC) using WFA were determined in a p acked-bed differential reactor system and was compared with two commercially available cataly sts, i.e., magnetite and activated carbon. Stable conversions (30-40%) of propanal without significant catalyst decay were obtained in continuous flow experiments (1300 min). The rate law fo r the catalytic ozonation was determined by studying the effect of ozone and propanal concentr ation on rate of reaction of propanal. A one- way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test verified that crystalline phases present in WFA contributed to its catalytic activity. A two-tail t-test ( P<0.05) confirmed that water (humid air and wet catalyst) enhanced the percentage removal of propanal and also the reaction rates.