Catalytic complete oxidation of acetylene and propene over clay versus cordierite honeycomb monoliths without and with chemical vapor deposited cobalt oxide

Abstract The catalytic oxidation of acetylene (C 2 H 2 ) and propene (C 3 H 6 ), selected as model unsaturated hydrocarbons, was investigated over uncoated- and Co 3 O 4 -coated natural clay honeycomb monoliths and their performance was compared with commercial cordierite. Co 3 O 4 was deposited using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and chosen based on its recently demonstrated high activity. The catalytic behavior of the clay and cordierite-based monolithic samples has been investigated for the determination of the temperature-dependent conversion yield, specific reaction rate and related activation energy. The obtained results revealed a promising intrinsic catalytic performance of the uncoated clay monoliths. Furthermore, a synergetic interaction between the clay and the Co 3 O 4 film has enabled an improved performance relative to the coated cordierite. The present paper reveals a promising potential application of the natural clay as catalyst and/or catalyst-support through the association of the advantages offered by the chemical composition and honeycomb monolithic structure of clay.