Performance of an air purifier using a MnOx/TiO2 catalyst-coated filter for the decomposition of aldehydes, VOCs and ozone: An experimental study in an actual smoking room

Abstract

To develop an air purifier for a smoking room, an ozone (O-3) decomposition manganese catalyst, capable of the oxidative decomposition of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in tobacco smoke, was applied in this study. The actual concentration of the total VOCs (TVOCs) that was measured in a smoking room was -2,000 mu g m(3), toluene, benzene, and acetaldehyde were also obtained in high concentrations. An O-3 oxidative decomposition catalyst, MnOx/TiO2, synthesized by chemical vapor condensation (CVC) (MnOx/CVC-TiO2) was subjected to decomposition experiments, at room temperature (25 degrees C), utilizing acetaldehyde as the target material. The catalyst-coated filter was installed as a fixed bed, and after supplying O-3, at a concentration of 25 ppm, it was confirmed that the catalyst had facilitated the complete decomposition of 10 ppm of acetaldehyde. Next, a decomposition experiment was conducted for TVOCs with a prototype smoke purifier, which employed the catalyst-coated filter, in a 1-m(3) bench-scale chamber. The initial concentration of TVOC, 4,300 mu g m(3), was reduced to 171 mu g m(3) after 30 min (treatment efficiency, 96%). Finally, the treatment performance of the practical smoke purifier was tested in a real smoking room (61.9 m(3)). The initial TVOC concentration was reduced from 2,229 to 493 mu g m(3) after 30 min with a removal efficiency of 80%. Moreover,-70% of the acetaldehyde concentration was also decomposed.