The reaction behaviors of acetonitrile and ethyl acetate simultaneous degradation over Cu–Ce/ZSM–5 catalyst

Aiming at the coexistence of pollutants in the actual industrial process, the catalytic oxidation of acetonitrile and ethyl acetate mixture on the Cu–Ce/ZSM–5 catalyst was studied. The mutual inhibition effect during catalytic removal of acetonitrile and ethyl acetate mixture was observed. Acetonitrile showed a more obvious inhibitory effect on the conversion of ethyl acetate, and the introduction of ethyl acetate reduced the N2 selectivity of acetonitrile oxidation. The simulation results demonstrated acetonitrile could be preferentially adsorbed on Cu center of the catalyst surface, leading to significant inhibition of the initial conversion of ethyl acetate. In addition, the coexistence of ethyl acetate would weaken the hydrolysis of acetonitrile to generate carboxylic acid and –NHx species. As such, no enough adsorbed NHx species could be used to reduce the NOx produced by excessive oxidation of acetonitrile, resulting in a decreased in N2 selectivity. This study could provide reference on the application of catalysts for cyanide–containing waste gas degradation.