Novel Catalytic System for Air Pollutant Control of Formaldehyde Production Units

PROJECT ACRONYM: ForCat
PROJECT CODE: T1EDK-01704

The objective of the project is the development of an innovative catalytic converter for the abatement of emissions from industrial formaldehyde production units. The converter will not require preheating of exhaust gases and will be based on low-cost catalysts with high activity already at 35oC. This will allow the design of a simpler flow sheet for the after-treatment system and the increase of the energy efficiency of the whole production unit. More specifically, the project goals are:

  • Identification of optimal catalyst composition
  • Selection of most suitable monolithic substrate for catalyst deposition
  • Design and sizing of the catalytic converter for application in typical industrial formaldehyde production units
  • Assessment of critical catalyst performance indicators in a laboratory prototype
  • Technical and economic evaluation of the project results towards commercialization through the global customer network of CHIMAR HELLAS.

 

The currently employed converter has a long life (> 5 years) accompanied by high cost due to the use of noble metals (Pt, Pd), and the need for feed preheating. The project participants propose replacement of noble metals with metal oxide catalysts of variable composition.
The study of catalytic properties will take into account all requirements of the industrial application, while a multitude of analytic techniques will be employed for detailed characterization of catalyst structure.