In the present study, the combustion of representative volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as benzene, n-butanol and ethylacetate over Pt and Pd catalysts supported on various carriers has been investigated. Ethylacetate is the most difficult organic compound to oxidize. Pt and Pd catalysts supported on TiO2 doped with W6+ cations were found to be at least one order of magnitude more active than conventional Pt and Pd catalysts supported on gamma-Al2O3 carriers in oxidation of ethylacetate, Generally, the oxidation of ethylacetate was observed to proceed via intermediate formation of ethanol, acetaldehyde and acetic acid on the support. The presence of water vapor in the gas stream inhibits deep oxidation of VOCs, and the required increase in reaction temperature in order to achieve the same destruction efficiency in the presence of water vapor was found to be in the order of 10-40 degrees C. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.