ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Solid waste decontamination by thermal desorption and catalytic oxidation methods

Olga Šolcová, Pavel Topka, Karel Soukup, Květuše Jirátová, Helena Váňová, and František Kaštánek

Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the ASCR, v.v.i., Rozvojová 135, 165 02, Prague 6, Czech Republic

E-mail: Solcova@icpf.cas.cz

Abstract: Combined thermal desorption and catalytic oxidation for soil decontamination was studied at the pilot plant scale. Gasoline, xylene, and 2-methylnaphthalene were used as model contaminants in the concentrations from 2 g to 10 g per kg of soil. To guarantee the flow of the exhaust gas from the thermal desorption unit into the catalytic oxidation unit, a Venturi pump was used. Based on the laboratory scale catalytic tests, the commercial catalyst EnviCat® VOC-1544 was employed in the catalytic oxidation. Residual concentrations of hydrocarbons in soil after the thermal desorption were below the detection limits of the applied analytical method (GC-MS). Although the contaminant concentrations at the inlet of the catalytic reactor significantly varied during the experiments, the efficiency of catalytic oxidation was higher than 90 % in all cases.

Keywords: catalytic oxidation – thermal desorption – soil decontamination – volatile organic compounds

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.2478/s11696-013-0455-0

Chemical Papers 68 (9) 1279–1282 (2014)