Soutenance publique de thèse de doctorat en Sciences chimiques - Marvin Laboureur

Evaluation of Monolith Catalyst Integration in a Wood Stove: Physico-Chemical Characterization and Toxicological Assessment of Emissions

Jury

• Prof. Catherine MICHAUX (UNamur), Présidente
• Prof. Bao-Lian SU (UNamur), Secrétaire
• Prof. Damien DEBECKER (UCLouvain)
• Prof. Hervé JEANMART (UCLouvain)
• Dr Thomas DUQUESNE (Stüv)

Résumé

Wood combustion has historically provided essential heat and remains a crucial renewable energy source today. However, residential batch combustion intrinsically emits severe pollutants, including CO, VOCs, and PM. Since primary optimization measures cannot completely eliminate these emissions, secondary post-combustion remediation is necessary.

To address this, the Université de Namur and Stûv collaborated to evaluate the integration of a monolithic oxidation catalyst into an 8 kW residential wood stove.

The initial study demonstrated exceptional abatement, reducing CO by 87%, PM by 66%, and highly toxic PAHs by over 90%. Crucially, in vitro assays on human lung cells proved this chemical reduction translates directly to a 50% decrease in overall emission cytotoxicity.

Subsequent mechanistic investigations using advanced speciation (PTR-TOF-MS) mapped the partial oxidation of non-methanic VOCs. This revealed that the catalyst's overall conversion efficiency is primarily limited by mass transfer rather than chemical kinetics.

Finally, to overcome the inherent variability of batch combustion, a precise simultaneous direct-comparison methodology was developed. This novel approach confirmed the overall study's findings, providing a robust and accurate framework for evaluating residential abatement technologies.

 

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