MODELING THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND (VOC) CONVERSION IN A MONOLITHIC CONVERTER

The catalytic converter has been widely used all over the world to enhance air quality. Monolithic catalytic converters are used to convert the harmful pollutants like VOCs into less harmful pollutants. These monolithic converters are very active and efficient in the reduction of air pollution when they are warmed up. To warm up the catalyst, it requires some time and during that time period a significant amount of air pollutants, particularly VOCs, are released into the atmosphere. A one-dimensional model for the VOC ethane was developed using mass and heat transfer between the catalyst surface, catalytic reactions and exhaust gas. A set of a partial differential equation (PDEs) is formed which are solved by backward difference and implicit scheme. The effect of variation in the initial catalyst temperatures and the gas temperature on ethane conversion was investigated.