CNR ExploRA

Articolo in rivista, 2023, ENG, 10.3390/molecules28227658

Comparative Analysis of Volatile Organic Compound Purification Techniques in Complex Cooking Emissions: Adsorption, Photocatalysis and Combined Systems

Zatta D.; Segata M.; Biasioli F.; Allegretti O.; Bochicchio G.; Verucchi R.; Chiavarini F.; Cappellin L.

Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padua, Via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padua, Italy; 3S Lab S.r.l., Via dei Zeni 30, 38010 Cavedago, Italy; Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Edmund Mach Foundation, Via Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy; Institute of BioEconomy, National Research Council (CNR-IBE), Via Biasi 75, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy; Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism, National Research Council (CNR-IMEM), Via alla Cascata 56/C, 38123 Povo, Italy; Elica SpA, Via E. Casoli 2, 60044 Fabriano, Italy

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are molecules present in our everyday life, and they can be positive, such as in the formation of odour and food flavour, or harmful to the environment and humans, and research is focusing on limiting their emissions. Various methods have been used to achieve this purpose. Firstly, we review three main degradation methods: activated carbon, photocatalysis and a synergetic system. We provide a general overview of the operative conditions and report the possibility of VOC abatement during cooking. Within the literature, none of these systems has ever been tested in the presence of complex matrices, such as during cooking processes. The aim of this study is to compare the three methods in order to understand the behaviour of filter systems in the case of realistically complex gas mixtures. Proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) has been used in the real-time monitoring of volatilome. Due to the fact that VOC emissions are highly dependent on the composition of the food cooked, we evaluated the degradation capacity of the three systems for different burger types (meat, greens, and fish). We demonstrate the pros and cons of photocatalysis and adsorption and how a combined approach can mitigate the drawbacks of photocatalysis.

Molecules (Basel, Online) 28 (22), pp. 7658-1–7658-13