The oxidative destruction of hydrocarbon volatile organic compounds using palladium-vanadia-titania catalysts

A range of titania supported palladium catalysts modified by the addition of vanadium have been prepared and tested for the total oxidation of short chain hydrocarbons. The addition of vanadium promoted the rates of oxidation at lower temperatures. Vanadium loadings between 0.5 and 3.0 wt.% were investigated and the most active catalyst was 0.5% Pd1.5% V/TiO2. The addition of vanadium decreased the palladium dispersion, but temperature programmed reduction studies showed that the combination of palladium with vanadium dramatically increased the ease of catalyst reduction. It is proposed that the increased catalyst activity is related to the modified redox properties of the catalysts.