Inorganic fibers and their application in catalysis

S.A. LEONARDI; M.L. GODOY; N.A. SACCO; V.G. MILT; E.E. MIRÓ; J.P. BORTOLOZZI; E.D. BANÚS

Advances in Material Research and Technology

Springer

Año: 2022

2662-4761

Fibers have many applications, including catalysis. In recent years, the use of fibers has emerged as a special type of structure that serves both as a support for active phases and as an active material in various reactions of industrial and environmental interest. This chapter is devoted to review the methods of synthesis of fibers of different materials, the conformation of structured catalysts and their application in the oxidation reactions studied in our laboratory. Fibers of single and mixed oxides of Ce, Zr and Co were prepared by different methods: hydrothermal synthesis, electrospinning and the biomorphic method and tested for soot combustion and CO oxidation, showing very good activity. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, with the biomorphic method being the simplest and most environmentally friendly. Commercial silica-alumina fibers were structured as ceramic paper by the conventional papermaking method and used as a support for a series of active phases, CoCe, MnCe, CoLa, CoBa and CoBaK, and applied for diesel soot combustion. Ni, NiZr and NiCe systems were used for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to obtain ethylene. Catalytic cartridges made of metal fibers were also used for the oxidation of VOCs, CO and diesel soot, the active phases being Co, Ce and PtCe deposited on stainless steel fibers. The fresh and used catalysts were characterized by several techniques to study the physicochemistry and morphology of both the active phases and the supports. Finally, in order to foresee the applicability of the catalytic paper and stacked wire mesh cartridges for diesel soot filtration and oxidation, they were scaled up and tested on a bench diesel engine, obtaining very promising results.