• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.433-437
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• 2013

Electrical discharge plasma created in a multi-channel porous ceramic membrane-supported catalyst was applied to the decomposition of a volatile organic compound (VOC). For the purpose of improving the oxidation capability, the ceramic membrane used as a low-pressure drop catalyst support was loaded with zinc oxide photocatalyst by the incipient wetness impregnation method. Alternating current-driven discharge plasma was created inside the porous ceramic membrane to produce reactive species such as radicals, ozone, ions and excited molecules available for the decomposition of VOC. As the voltage supplied to the reactor increased, the plasma discharge gradually propagated in the radial direction, creating an uniform plasma in the entire ceramic membrane above a certain voltage. Ethylene was used as a model VOC. The ethylene decomposition efficiency was examined with experimental variables such as the specific energy density, inlet ethylene concentration and zinc oxide loading. When compared at the identical energy density, the decomposition efficiency obtained with the zinc oxide-loaded ceramic membrane was substantially higher than that of the bare membrane case. Both nitrogen and oxygen played an important role in initiating the decomposition of ethylene. The rate of the decomposition is governed by the quantity of reactive species generated by the plasma, and a strong dependence of the decomposition efficiency on the initial concentration was observed.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.714-722
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• 2019

Catalysts were prepared by using incipient wetness impregnation method with 17 wt% Ni on a support ($SiO_2-Y_2O_3$, $Al_2O_3$, $SiO_2-ZrO_2$, $SiO_2$, $TiO_2$, MgO) and the catalytic activity in the reductive amination of ethanol with ammonia in the presence of hydrogen was compared and evaluated. The catalysts used before and after the reaction were characterized using X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, ethanol-temperature programmed desorption (EtOH-TPD), isopropanol-temperature programmed desorption (IPA-TPD), and hydrogen chemisorption etc. In the case of preparing $ZrO_2$ and $Y_2O_3$ supports, the small amount of Si dissolution from the Pyrex reactor surface provoked the formation of mixed oxides $SiO_2-ZrO_2$ and $SiO_2-Y_2O_3$. Among the catalysts used, $Ni/SiO_2-Y_2O_3$ catalyst showed the best activity, and this good activity was closely related to the highest nickel dispersion, and low desorption temperature in EtOH-TPD and IPA-TPD. The low catalytic activity on Ni/MgO catalysts showed low activity due to the formation of NiO-MgO solid-solutions. In the case of $Ni/TiO_2$, the reactivity was low due to the low nickel metal phase due to strong metal-support interaction. In the case of using a support as $SiO_2-Y_2O_3$, $Al_2O_3$, $SiO_2-ZrO_2$, and $SiO_2$, the selectivities of ethylamines and acetonitrile were not significantly different at similar ethanol conversion.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.269-277
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• 2022

With the recent development of the biological enzymatic reaction industry, lactic acid (LA) can be mass-produced from biomass sources. In particular, a catalytic process that converts LA into acrylic acid (AA) is receiving much attention because AA is used widely in the petrochemical industry as a monomer for superabsorbent polymers (SAP) and as an adhesive for displays. In the LA conversion process, NaY zeolites have been previously shown to be a high-activity catalyst, which improves AA selectivity and long-term stability. However, NaY zeolites suffer from fast deactivation due to severe coking. Therefore, the aim of this study is to modify the acid-base properties of the NaY zeolite to address this shortcoming. First, base promoters, Ca ions, were introduced to the NaY zeolites to tune their acidity and basicity via ion exchange (IE) and incipient wetness impregnation (IWI). The IWI method showed superior catalyst selectivity and stability compared to the IE method, maintaining a high AA yield of approximately 40% during the 16 h reaction. Based on the NH₃- and CO₂-TPD results, the calcium salts that impregnated into the NaY zeolites were proposed to exit as an oxide form mainly at the exterior surface of NaY and act as additional base sites to promote the dehydration of LA to AA. The NaY zeolites were further treated with KOH before calcium impregnation to reduce the total acidity and improve the dispersion of calcium through the mesopores formed by KOH-induced desilication. However, this KOH treatment did not lead to enhanced AA selectivity. Finally, calcium loading was increased from 1wt% to 5wt% to maximize the amount of base sites. The increased basicity improved the AA selectivity substantially to 65% at 100% conversion while maintaining high activity during a 24 h reaction. Our results suggest that controlling the basicity of the catalyst is key to obtaining high AA selectivity and high catalyst stability.