A Study of White-Spirit Vapor Combustion on Pt/Al ₂O ₃ Catalyst

The objective of the work is to investigate the catalytic combustion of white spirit solvent vapors at low concentration in air, typical for depollution applications, on a commercial catalyst, Pt/γ-Al ₂O ₃ (0.5wt-% Pt). To study the influence of the main variables on the process kinetics, experiments were performed under various operating conditions (temperature domain: 150-350°C; flow rates: 125-250mLmin ^-1; white spirit concentrations: 220-260ppmv). The stoichiometry and kinetics of the vapor combustion was described globally by using a pseudo-compound, representing the average molecular weight and the carbon/hydrogen ratio of the mixture. Experimental data were reasonably well correlated by a first order rate expression with respect to the apparent concentration of the lumping pseudo-component. The combustion of white spirit solvent vapors in air, at concentrations typical for depollution applications, over a commercial Pt/γ-Al ₂O ₃ catalyst, was studied on a laboratory setup. The process stoichiometry and kinetics were described using a pseudo-compound, which represents the average molecular weight and the carbon/hydrogen ratio of the mixture. It was found that the combustion kinetics can be fairly well described by a first order rate expression.