Ceria supported on sulfated zirconia as a superacid catalyst for selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3.

In this paper, ceria supported on sulfated zirconia (CeSZ) as a superacid catalyst was synthesized and the resulted performances for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH(3) were investigated. Experimental results revealed that the sulfation of zirconia supports could greatly improve the SCR activity of the catalysts. Among the tested samples, the CeSZ catalyst with Ce/Zr mole ratio at 0.095 possessed the highest NO conversion (i.e., 98.6% at ca. 420 °C and 180,000 h(-1)). The sulfation had led to a formation of pure tetragonal phase of ZrO(2), a well dispersion of CeO(2), abundant stable superacid sites, increasing surface area and enrichment of Ce(3+) on the surface, all of which were responsible for its excellent performance in SCR of NO with NH(3).

Effects of Mg2+ on the bivalent mercury reduction behaviors in simulated wet FGD absorbents.

This paper studied the bivalent mercury reduction behaviors after Mg(2+) addition in the simulated Ca-based and Dual-Alkali flue gas desulfurization (FGD) absorbents. Experimental results showed that the reduction of bivalent mercury was increased in the Ca-based FGD absorbent and inhibited in the Dual-Alkali FGD absorbent. It was proposed that the former was mainly attributed to the enhanced dissolution and recrystallization of CaSO(3) particles by Mg(2+) addition, which provided more active surface for mercury adsorption and reduction, whilst the latter was mainly due to the formation of neutral MgSO(3)(0) ion pair, which tended to lower the active sulfite concentration in the simulated solution.

Deactivation mechanism of PtOx/TiO(2) photocatalyst towards the oxidation of NO in gas phase.

This study has been undertaken to investigate the roles of PtO and PtO(2) deposits in photocatalytic oxidation of NO over Pt-modified TiO(2) catalysts. These photocatalysts were prepared by neutralization method and characterized by XRD, BET, XPS, TEM and FTIR. It was found that Pt dopant existed as PtO and PtO(2) particles in as-prepared photocatalysts. And these Pt dopants would change their oxidation states during the photocatalytic oxidation reaction. An in situ XPS study indicated that a portion of PtO(2) on the surface of Pt/TiO(2) was reduced to PtO under UV irradiation. The migration of electrons to PtO(2) particles could separate the electrons and holes, resulting in the improvement of photocatalytic activity. And the depletion of PtO(2) by electrons could lead to the deactivation of Pt/TiO(2) catalyst. Moreover, PtO particles could be corroded to form Pt(2+) ions by HNO(3), which was one of the products of photocatalytic oxidation of NO. NO would adsorb on Pt(2+) related sites to form Pt(n+)-NO nitrosyls, retarding photocatalytic oxidation of NO to NO(2).

Experimental study on the absorption behaviors of gas phase bivalent mercury in Ca-based wet flue gas desulfurization slurry system.

Gas phase oxidation and catalytic oxidation of element mercury (Hg(0)) to bivalent mercury (Hg(2+)) were proposed to improve the mercury removal efficiency in the wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) system. However, the re-emission of Hg(0), generated by the reduction of absorbed Hg(2+), would lead to a damping of the total mercury removal efficiency. In this paper, the absorption and reduction behaviors of bivalent mercury in the Ca-based WFGD slurry were evaluated in our purpose-built device. According to our experimental results, the slurry chemistry (such as CaSO(3) content, SO(4)(2-), Cl(-) and pH value) had a strong influence on the reduction of absorbed bivalent mercury. And the inlet concentrations of SO(2) and O(2) contribute little to the mercury absorption. Within the typical pH value range of 4.5-5.5, about 70% of inlet bivalent mercury was converted to Hg(0). The re-emission of Hg would be greatly retarded with the increase of [SO(4)(2-)] due to the formation of HgSO(4) or Hg(3)O(2)SO(4). Moreover, it was found that Cl(-) would also inhibit the reduction of bivalent mercury through the ligands reactions between Cl(-) and Hg(2+).

Oxidation inhibition of sulfite in dual alkali flue gas desulfurization system.

A laboratory-scale well-mixed thermostatic reactor with continuously blasting air was used to investigate the oxidation inhibition of sulfite in dual alkali flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system. The effects of operating parameters such as pH value and catalyst concentration on the oxidation were studied. Sodium thiosulfate was used in the system, and was found that it significantly inhabited the sulfite oxidation. In the absence of catalyst, sodium thiosulfate at 12.67 mmol/L had an inhibition efficiency of approximately 98%. While in the presence of catalyst, sodium thiosulfate at 26.72 mmol/L had an inhibition efficiency less than 85.0%. The oxidation reaction order of sulfite in the sodium thiosulfate was determined to be -1.90 and -0.55 in the absence and presence of the catalyst, respectively. Apparent activation energy of oxidation inhibition was calculated to be 53.9 kJ/mol. Pilot tests showed that the consumption rate of thiosulfate agreed well with the laboratory-scale experimental results.

[Experiment of wet FGD process with waste marble].

The wet FGD process with waste marble was studied experimentally, and the mass transfer reaction mechanism was analyzed. Main parameters including liquid/gas ratio, pH value of the absorbent slurry and inlet SO2 concentration, etc. affecting SO2 removal efficiency were studied for the process. The results show that the suitable operating conditions were recommended as follows: pH0 = 5.5-6.5, L/G = 3L/m3, a = 2%; the sulfur dioxide removal efficiency can reach more than 60% when the inlet SO2 concentration was 1000 ml/m3. In addition, the industrial application potential for this process was discussed.