Advanced oxidation of aromatic VOCs using a pilot system with electron beam-catalyst coupling

The decomposition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using a pilot system of electron beam (EB)-catalyst coupling was investigated. Two aromatic VOCs, toluene (1800 ppmC) and o-xylene (1500 ppmC), were irradiated with a dose range of 0-10 kGy at room temperature. The removal efficiencies for toluene and o-xylene were 92.4% and 94.5%, respectively, under a 10 kGy absorbed dose condition, which were higher than the results of 45.7% and 52.3% when EB-only was used, respectively. The CO2 selectivity approached 100% for both toluene and o-xylene using the EB-catalyst coupling system, while the concentrations of O-3 formed were 0.02 ppm (toluene) and 0.003 ppm (o-xylene) at 10 kGy. The aerosol concentration was also measured as 43.2 mu g/m(3) (toluene) and 53.4 mu g/m(3) (o-xylene) at 10 kGy absorbed dose. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.