Total oxidation of propane and naphthalene from emission sources with supported cobalt catalysts

Propane and naphthalene combustion reactions were studied in the presence of CoOx/SiO2 catalysts. The catalysts were prepared by impregnation with four different levels of concentration (1, 5, 10 and 15 wt%) and characterized by several physicochemical techniques such as BET, DRX, SEM-EDS, TPR and UV-Vis DRS. TPR and UV-Vis DRS results reveal the presence of Co3O4-type species in all the studied catalysts, which are the active species for the combustion of both hydrocarbons. CoOx(5)/SiO2, which was the most active catalyst for the combustion of propane, presented also Co(II) ions in an octahedral environment, and this phase was the one responsible for the increase of the activity. For naphthalene combustion, the catalytic activity depends on the metal loading, the catalysts with higher loading being more active.