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New Insight into SO2 Poisoning and Regeneration of CeO2-WO3/ TiO2 and V2O5-WO3/TiO2 Catalysts for Low-temperature NH3-SCR Liwen Xu, Chizhong Wang, Huazhen Chang, Qingru Wu, Tao Zhang, and Junhua Li Environ. Sci. Technol., Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b01990 • Publication Date (Web): 21 May 2018 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on May 21, 2018
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Environmental Science & Technology
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New Insight into SO2 Poisoning and Regeneration of CeO2-WO3/TiO2 and V2O5-WO3/TiO2 Catalysts for Low-temperature NH3-SCR
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Liwen Xua#, Chizhong Wangb#, Huazhen Changa#∗, Qingru Wub, Tao Zhanga, Junhua Lib
7
a
8
China
9
b
10
School of Environment and Natural Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872,
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC),
School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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∗
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86-10-62512572; E-mail address:
[email protected] (H. Chang). 1
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ABSTRACT
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In this study, the poisoning effects of SO2 on the V2O5-WO3/TiO2 (1%VWTi) and
14
CeO2-WO3/TiO2 (5%CeWTi) selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts were
15
investigated in the presence of steam, and also the the regeneration of deactivated
16
catalysts was studied.. After pretreating the catalysts in a flow of NH3 + SO2 + H2O + O2
17
at 200 °C for 24 h, it was observed that the low-temperature SCR (LT-SCR) activity
18
decreased significantly for the 1%VWTi and 5%CeWTi catalysts. For 1%VWTi,
19
NH4HSO4 (ABS) was the main product detected after the poisoning process. Both of
20
NH4HSO4 and cerium sulfate species were formed on the poisoned 5%CeWTi catalyst,
21
indicating that SO2 reacted with Ce3+ /Ce4+, even in the presence of high concentration of
22
NH3. The decrease of BET specific surface area, NOx adsorption capacity, the ratio of
23
chemisorbed oxygen, and reducibility were responsible for the irreversible deactivation
24
of the poisoned 5%CeWTi catalyst. Meanwhile, the LT-SCR activity could be recovered
25
for the poisoned 1%VWTi after regeneration at 400 °C, but not for the 5%CeWTi catalyst.
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For industrial application, it is suggested that the regeneration process can be utilized for
27
1%VWTi catalysts after a period of time after NH4HSO4 accumulated on the catalysts.
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Keywords: SO2 poisoning, low-temperature SCR, V2O5-WO3/TiO2, CeO2-WO3/TiO2,
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regeneration
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1. INTRODUCTION
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Selective catalytic reduction of NOx by NH3 at low temperature (LT-SCR) attracted
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great interest from industry and researchers over the past two decades. LT-SCR is a
33
potential technology for eliminating NOx from the emissions of power plants and other
34
stationary sources. In addition to V2O5-WO3 (MoO3) /TiO2, large quantities of catalysts
35
have been developed for LT-SCR, such as MnOx-CeO2,
36
(or Mo) mixed oxides,
37
capacity and remarkable redox properties, is a promising additive and active component
38
for LT-SCR.10 It has been reported that CeW/Ti, CeMo/Ti and even Ce/Ti catalysts
39
showed excellent SCR activity over a broad temperature window. 10-15 Ce-M/Ti (M=W, or
40
Mo) catalysts are assumed to be potential candidates to replace the poisonous commercial
41
V2O5-WO3 (or MoO3)/TiO2 catalysts.
5-7
and Cu-SAPO-34.
8, 9
1, 2
Fe-Mn-Ti, 3 Fe-W-O, 4 Ce-W
CeO2, exhibiting a high oxygen storage
42
A challenge for the industrial application of LT-SCR is SO2 poisoning on catalysts. In
43
the presence of SO2, the SCR performance decreases continuously for most catalysts at
44
temperatures below 300 °C.
45
reasons. First, SO2 can react with NH3 and H2O to produce NH4HSO4 (ABS), which
46
easily obstructs the active sites. Li et al.
47
VW/Ti catalyst after SO2 sulfation at low temperature. The effect of NH4HSO4 gradually
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attracted attention, and some studies have reported its poisoning effects on LT-SCR
16, 17
This deactivation effect could be attributed to two
18, 19
reported that NH4HSO4 could form over a
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catalysts.
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investigate the effect of NH4HSO4 on SCR catalysts. However, the deactivation
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mechanism of SO2 in the SCR reactor from the actual flue gas in the SCR reactor might
52
be much different from that of NH4HSO4 impregnation. Second, SO2 can react directly
53
with active sites to produce thermally stable sulfates, which interrupts the redox property
54
of SCR catalysts, leading to irreversible deactivation of the catalysts. 21 Although SO2 has
55
a promotion effect on SCR activity over CeO2 because of the initial sulfation of CeO2, 22
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it is believed that Ce-based catalysts can be deactivated by SO2 at low temperature. It has
57
been proposed that surface Ce(SO4)2 forms after SO2 poisoning, and it is the most stable
58
poisoning species on CeO2.
59
determined by the length of time exposed to SO2, the concentration of SO2, co-existence
60
of O2 and H2O, and reaction temperatures.
Moreover, many researchers have used NH4HSO4 impregnation to
23
The extent of the deactivation of LT-SCR catalysts is
61
To the best of our knowledge, there is a trade-off relations between the sulfur
62
poisoning problem of catalysts and stable operation of LT-SCR. Deposition of ABS on
63
active sites and generation of metal sulfates result in a decrease of activity over LT-SCR
64
catalysts, and it remains a problem how to regenerate deactivated catalysts. Jin et al.
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reported that the deposited ammonium (bi)sulfates on Mn-Ce/TiO2 catalyst can be
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completely removed by a water-washing treatment. In our previous study, it was
67
proposed that heat treating with H2 is an effective way to regenerate a SO2-poisoned
24
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GeO2-CeO2-WO3 catalyst.
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SO2 and H2O poisoned catalysts at low temperature.
There are limited systematic studies on the regeneration of
70
In this study, the effects of SO2 and H2O in situ poisoning on V2O5-WO3/TiO2 and
71
CeO2-WO3/TiO2 catalysts were investigated. The flue gas conditions in stationary sources
72
(such as power plant) were simulated. Various characterizations were employed to
73
explore the poisoning mechanism of SO2 over the two kinds of catalysts. Furthermore, a
74
simple regeneration method was applied for poisoned V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalysts.
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2. EXPERIMENTAL SECTION
76
2.1. Catalyst synthesis
77
CeO2-WO3/TiO2 and V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalysts were prepared by the impregnation
78
method, using Degussa AEROSIL TiO2 P25 as the support. The 5 wt% CeO2-WO3/TiO2
79
(denoted as 5%CeWTi) catalyst (the mass ratio of WO3 is 5 wt%) was prepared by
80
impregnating TiO2 powder with an aqueous solution of cerium nitrate (Ce(NO3)3•6H2O),
81
ammonium tungstate hydrate ((NH4)10W12O41•xH2O) and oxalic acid (H2C2O4•2H2O).
82
The combined solution was stirred for 2 h, then dried at 110 °C and calcined at 500 °C
83
for 4 h in air. The 1 wt% V2O5-WO3/TiO2 (denoted as 1%VWTi) catalyst (the mass ratio
84
of WO3 is 5 wt%) was prepared by the same method using ammonium vanadate
85
(NH4VO3), ammonium tungstate hydrate ((NH4)10W12O41•xH2O) and oxalic acid
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(H2C2O4•2H2O) as precursors. 5
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In situ poisoning of the catalysts was performed by using a fixed bed quartz reactor
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for 24 h at 200 °C. The inlet gas was 500 ppm NH3, 500 ppm SO2, 5% H2O, 5% O2, and
89
N2 as the balance gas. The samples could be denoted as –p, for example, 1%VWTi-p.
90
Regeneration of poisoned catalysts was performed with the same fixed bed quartz
91
reactor. The catalysts were heated to and kept at 400 °C for 30 min. The inlet gas was N2.
92
The samples are denoted as –r, for example, 1%VWTi-r.
93
2.2. Catalytic performance
94
Measurements of the steady-state NH3-SCR activity were carried out in a fixed bed
95
quartz reactor with the outlet gas monitored by a NOx analyzer (Eco Physics, CLD
96
822Mh). The inlet gas was 500 ppm NO, 500 ppm NH3, 5% O2 and N2 as the balance gas.
97
The gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) was approximately 30,000 h-1. All of the tubings
98
in the reactor system heated to 120 °C to prevent water condensation and ammonium
99
nitrate deposition. The NOx conversion rate was calculated according to Eqs. (1)
100
conversion % = 1 −
× 100%
(1)
101 102
2.3. Catalyst characterization
103
Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was carried on a TGA/DSC 1 STARe. The TGA
104
furnace was first preheated to 120 °C and kept at 120 °C for 20 min; then, the TGA
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furnace was heated to 1000 °C at a heating rate of 20 °C/min in a flow of air. 6
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H2-TPR was carried out with a Micromeritics AutoChem II 2720 instrument. The
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sample was first preheated to 200 °C in a He flow for 1 h. Then the TCD signal stabilized
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in a H2 flow and the sample was heated to 1000 °C with a heating rate of 10 °C/min. The
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amount of H2 consumed as a function of temperature was monitored by the signal of the
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TCD.
111
Temperature programmed desorption of NO+O2 (NO+O2-TPD) was carried out with
112
a NOx analyzer (Eco Physics, CLD 822Mh). The sample was first preheated to 200 °C in
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a N2 flow for 1 h. Then the sample adsorbed NO+O2 ([NO] = 500 ppm, [O2] = 5%) until
114
saturated in room temperature. After swept with N2 for 1 h, the sample was heated to
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400 °C with a heating rate of 10 oC/min. The NO and NO2 concentrations were
116
monitored by the testing instrument as a function of temperature.
117
The experiment details of XRD, NH3-TPD, and XPS could be found in SI.
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3. RESULTS
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3.1. Effects of In Situ SO2 + H2O Poisoning and Regeneration on SCR Performance.
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Figure 1 and Figure S1 shows the NH3-SCR activities over 1%VWTi and 5%CeWTi
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catalysts. Fresh 1%VWTi and 5%CeWTi catalysts exhibited excellent NOx conversion
122
(higher than 85%) over the temperature range of 250-400 °C, which is in agreement with
123
previous studies.11,
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significantly over both of the catalysts, especially at low temperature. It was observed
26
After in situ poisoning for 24 h, NOx conversion decreased
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that the decreasing extent of NOx conversion over the 5%CeWTi-p catalyst was less than
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that over the 1%VWTi-p catalyst at 200-300 °C, suggesting that the poisoning effect was
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slower on the 5%CeWTi-p catalyst. A simple regeneration treatment was performed by
128
heating the poisoned catalysts in N2 atmosphere at 400 °C. The low-temperature SCR
129
(LT-SCR) activity of the 1%VWTi-r catalyst was well recovered compared with the
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poisoned sample. NOx conversion was slightly higher than the fresh sample at
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temperatures lower than 300 °C. By contrast, the regeneration process had little impact
132
on the activity of the 5%CeWTi-r catalyst, indicating that the in situ poisoning effects are
133
much different between the 1%VWTi and 5%CeWTi catalysts.
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3.2. Characterization of Poisoned and Regenerated SCR Catalysts.
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3.2.1 BET and XRD.
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The BET specific surface areas of different samples are displayed in Table 1. It was
137
observed that the surface area decreased to 46.2 m2/g for 1%VWTi-p and recovered to
138
49.6 m2/g after regeneration. By contrast, in situ poisoning had a significant impact on
139
the surface area of the 5%CeWTi catalyst, which decreased from 54.0 m2/g to 34.9 m2/g.
140
Meanwhile, the surface area of 5%CeWTi-r couldn’t be recovered after the regeneration
141
process. XRD analysis was performed to examine the crystal structures of poisoned and
142
regenerated catalysts. The XRD patterns shown in Figure S2 reveal that no diffractions
143
could be assigned to NH4HSO4, VOSO4, Ce(SO4)2 or Ce2(SO4)3 were observed in the 8
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1%VWTi and 5%CeWTi catalysts after in situ poisoning and the subsequent regeneration
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process. Therefore, it is suggested that in situ poisoning results in the formation of
146
amorphous surface species rather than crystallized phases.
147
3.2.2 TGA analysis.
148
TGA was carried out to study the formation of the surface species after in situ
149
poisoning. Figure 2 shows the mass loss of the poisoned 1%VWTi and 5%CeWTi
150
catalysts via TGA analysis. The 1%VWTi-p catalyst exhibited a dramatic weight loss at
151
350-500 °C and remained stable at higher temperatures. This weight loss is in accordance
152
with the decomposition temperature of pure NH4HSO4, implying the formation of
153
NH4HSO4 on the 1%VWTi-p catalyst. Decomposition of NH4HSO4 has also been
154
investigated by other researchers.
155
loss occurred at 300-500 °C and 650-800 °C, which resembles the TGA profile of pure
156
Ce2(SO4)3 with rising temperature. In addition, Figure 2 shows no evident weight loss for
157
the TiO2-p sample, ruling out the formation of titanium sulfate species. It is therefore
158
suggested that both NH4HSO4 and cerium sulfates species were likely to form on the
159
5%CeWTi-p catalyst. The decomposition temperature of cerium sulfate was lower on the
160
5%CeWTi-p catalyst than pure Ce2(SO4)3 and Ce(SO4)2 used in our previous study. 2 One
161
possible explanation for this result is that amorphous surface sulfate species formed on
162
the 5%CeWTi-p catalyst.
27
For the 5%CeWTi-p catalyst, two stages of weight
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3.2.3 XPS.
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To examine the chemical status of the surface species after poisoning and
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regeneration, XPS analysis was performed on fresh, poisoned and regenerated catalysts,
166
and the results are shown in Figure 3 and Table 1. In Figure 3(a) and (b), the peaks
167
located at 169.1 eV are attributed to the S 2p signal of SO42-, 22 indicating the presence of
168
sulfur species on both the 1%VWTi-p and 5%CeWTi-p catalysts. SO32- species likely did
169
not exist on the catalyst surface according to from the S 2p spectra,
170
presence of O2 during the in situ poisoning process. Table 1 reveals that the surface
171
atomic ratio of sulfur on the 5%CeWTi-p catalyst (3.15%) was much larger than that on
172
the 1%VWTi-p catalyst (1.72%). In accordance with the higher weight loss of the
173
5%CeWTi-p catalyst in the aforementioned TGA result, larger amounts of sulfur species
174
formed on the 5%CeWTi-p catalyst in comparison to the 1%VWTi-p catalyst. After the
175
regeneration process, the atomic ratio of surface sulfur over the 1%VWTi-r (0.95 %) and
176
5%CeWTi-r (1.88 %) catalysts decreased, suggesting that the unstable surface sulfates
177
(i.e., NH4HSO4) decomposed. The bulk S content of samples was determined by ICP.
178
The content of sulfur on the 5%CeWTi-p catalyst (1.35 wt.%) was also much larger than
179
that on the 1%VWTi-p catalyst (0.562 wt.%). After regeneration, the S content was still
180
higher on the 5%CeWTi-r catalyst (0.548 wt.%) than that of the 1%VWTi-r catalyst
181
(0.0985 wt.%). Note that the sulfur species were still found over the 5%CeWTi-r catalyst
28
owing to the
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and that sulfur species with strong metal-sulfur bonding were likely to be highly
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preserved after the regeneration process.
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Figure 3(c) shows overlapping V 2p signals from the V3+, V4+ and V5+ species on the
185
1%VWTi catalysts. The V 2p peak of the 1%VWTi catalyst shifted slightly to higher
186
bonding energy after the in situ poisoning and shifted back after regeneration. This is
187
inconsistent with the peaks shifts of W 4f and Ti 2p in the fresh, poisoned and
188
regenerated 1%VWTi catalysts (Figure S3). These changes might be due to the formation
189
of surface sulfate species on the 1%VWTi-p catalyst. Despite the possible formation of
190
VOSO4 on the 1%VWTi-p catalysts as suggested in the previous studies,
191
strength between surface V (or W, Ti) and S was so weak that they were broken in the
192
regeneration process. Thus, the SCR activity was well recovered after the regeneration of
193
the 1%VWTi catalyst.
29
the bonding
194
As shown in Figure 3(d) and Table 1, the surface ratio of Ce3+/(Ce3+ + Ce4+) of the
195
5%CeWTi catalyst (23.6%) was increased dramatically after in situ poisoning (33.8%).
196
Since SO42- (formed from the oxidation of SO2) can be deposited on CeO2 rather than on
197
WO3 and TiO2, the increased ratio of Ce3+ demonstrated that formation of Ce2(SO4)3 was
198
possible on the 5%CeWTi-p catalyst. Despite the high ratio of surface Ce3+, formation of
199
Ce4+ sulfate species, i.e., Ce(SO4)2, was also possible during in situ poisoning. After the
200
regeneration process, the ratio of Ce3+ / (Ce3+ + Ce4+) (see Table 1) and the peak positions 11
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of W 4f and Ti 2p (Figure S3) remained unchanged, indicating the high stability of the
202
surface cerium sulfates. Therefore, unlike the 1%VWTi catalyst, the degradation of the
203
SCR activity might be related to the formation of both NH4HSO4 and cerium sulfates
204
over the 5%CeWTi-p catalyst. The LT-SCR activity could not be recovered with the
205
retained cerium sulfates on the catalyst surface after regeneration at 400 °C.
206
The O 1s spectra are shown in Figure 3 (e and f). The results revealed that both of
207
chemical adsorbed oxygen (Oα) and lattice oxygen (Oβ) were presented on the 1%VWTi
208
and 5%CeWTi catalysts. 2 After in situ poisoning, the ratios of Oα / (Oα + Oβ) decreased
209
and the O 1s peaks shifted to higher binding energies on the 1%VWTi-p and 5%CeWTi-p
210
catalysts. It is proposed that chemisorbed oxygen is an important active species in the
211
SCR reaction.
212
restrained SCR activity after in situ poisoning. The ratio of Oα / (Oα + Oβ) increased again
213
on 1%VWTi-r catalyst after heating regeneration. It was also observed that the decrease
214
of Oα / (Oα + Oβ) could not be recovered for the 5%CeWTi-r catalyst due to the formation
215
of cerium sulfates after in situ poisoning.
216
3.2.4 H2-TPR.
30
The decrease of the ratio of Oα should be an important factor for the
217
H2-TPR was performed to investigate the redox properties of the 1%VWTi and
218
5%CeWTi catalysts. Figure 4 shows the H2-TPR profiles of fresh, poisoned and
219
regenerated samples. In Figure 4(a), the reduction peak
at the temperatures below 12
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600 °C was ascribed to the coupled reduction of V5+ to V3+ and W6+ to W4+ in the fresh
221
1%VWTi catalyst, while the peak at a temperature of approximately 765 °C was caused
222
by the reduction of W4+ to metallic W. 26 After in situ poisoning, a strong peak appeared
223
at 497 °C and the H2 consumption of the first reduction peak increased significantly due
224
to the coupled reduction of V5+, W6+ and SO42- species. The peak positions of the V5+→
225
V3+ reduction remained nearly unchanged after poisoning and regeneration, indicating
226
that in situ poisoning had little effect on the reducibility of the 1%VWTi-p catalysts. The
227
intensity of the first peak of 1%VWTi-r decreased after regeneration, implying that the
228
sulfate species decomposed during the heating treatment. It is envisioned that
229
redispersion of vanadium species occurred after the regeneration with a H2 consumption
230
at temperature lower than 400 C in the 1%VWTi-r. The peak at high temperature shifted
231
to a lower temperature after poisoning and was restored after regeneration, confirming
232
that the effect of poisoning disappeared on the 1%VWTi-r catalyst.
233
For the fresh 5%CeWTi catalyst (Figure 4(b)), a faint peak at 487 °C appeared, which
234
could be attributed to reduction of surface Ce4+ and W6+, and a strong peak at 788 °C
235
ascribing to bulk Ce4+ to Ce3+ and W4+ to metallic W. 6, 31 In the profiles of 5%CeWTi-p
236
and 5%CeWTi-r samples, a sharp peak appeared at ca. 565 °C was caused by the coupled
237
reduction of Ce4+, W6+ and SO42-.
238
peak of the surface SO42- revealed that the sulfate species that bonded to Ce were very
32
After regeneration, the existence of the reduction
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stable on 5%CeWTi-r catalyst.
240
3.2.5 Adsorption of NH3 and NOx.
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Adsorption of NH3 and NOx on the catalysts plays an important role in the NH3-SCR
242
activity. NH3-TPD was performed to titratethe surface acidity of catalysts before and
243
after poisoning. As shown in Figure S4 and Table 1, the amounts of NH3 adsorption
244
increased slightly in the 1%VWTi-p and 5%CeWTi-p catalysts, which might be due to
245
the abundant Brønsted acid sites resulted from the formation of SO42- after poisoning.
246
Figure 5 shows the NO+O2-TPD profiles of fresh, poisoned and regenerated catalysts.
247
For the fresh 1%VWTi and 5%CeWTi catalysts, the desorption peaks were attributed to
248
weakly adsorbed NOx (NO and NO2), nitrite and nitrate species. The desorption peaks
249
decreased significantly after in situ poisoning, revealing that the adsorption of NOx was
250
obviously affected by poisoning. Especially for the 1%VWTi-p catalyst, nearly no
251
desorbed NOx was detected over the test temperature range, which might be responsible
252
for the inhibited SCR performance at low temperature. The degradations of NOx
253
adsorption were primarily caused by the formation of surface sulfate species, which
254
suppressed the adsorption of NO and oxidation of NO to NO2. After regeneration in N2,
255
the NOx adsorption capacity was restored to a certain extent on 1%VWTi-r. However, the
256
amount of desorbed NOx decreased further on 5%CeWTi-r.
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4. DISCUSSION
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4.1 Deficiency of CeWTi and other metal oxides catalysts for LT-SCR.
259
SO2 poisoning is possibly the most important obstacle for LT-SCR. Generally, it has
260
been proposed that sulfur poisoning of LT-SCR catalysts is attributed to the formation of
261
NH4HSO4 and metal sulfates in the presence of O2 and H2O. 33, 34
262
The formation of NH4HSO4 and cerium sulfate species on the poisoned 5%CeWTi
263
catalyst was confirmed by the TGA, XPS and H2-TPR results, which indicated that SO2
264
inevitably reacted with Ce3+ /Ce4+ even in the presence of abundant NH3. It is notable that
265
ABS decomposed at approximately 400 °C, while the cerium sulfate species did not
266
decompose until 600 °C (Figure S5). In H2-TPR, a strong reduction peak at
267
approximately 579 °C was attributed to the cerium sulfates species. This was also
268
confirmed in the sulfation of CeO2 in our previous studies.
269
XPS spectra further demonstrated the formation of the SO42- on the 5%CeWTi-p catalyst
270
(see Figure 3). The ratio of Ce3+ / Ce3+ + Ce4+ was not affected by the regeneration
271
process, demonstrating that these sulfates were stable at 400 °C.
272
22, 32
The S 2p signal in the
For cerium-based catalysts, some debate still remains on the resistance to SO2. It has 12
273
been reported that CeW catalyst has a superior resistance to sulfur poisoning.
274
found that CeO2 can promote the oxidation of SO2 to SO3 on the VTi catalyst, resulting in
275
the formation of cerium sulfates.
29
Others
After exposure to SO2 and O2 at 300 °C for 8 h, the 15
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formation of cerium sulfate species on CeO2 and their promotional effect on SCR activity
277
were investigated extensively in our previous study. 22 In the present work, the amount of
278
adsorbed NH3 per surface area increased after poisoning, indicating that the formation of
279
sulfate species increased the acidity of the 5%CeWTi-p catalyst.
280
However, after pretreatment under a more substantial flue gas condition of NH3 +
281
SO2 + H2O + O2 (which was equivalent to actual flue gas) at 200 °C for 24 h, it was
282
found that the poisoning effects on the LT-SCR performance over the 5%CeWTi catalysts
283
could not be ignored. The surface area obviously decreased after poisoning for both the
284
5%CeWTi-p and 1%VWTi-p catalyst, and could not be recovered by regeneration for the
285
5%CeWTi-r sample. The amount of NOx adsorption degraded dramatically due to the
286
decreased surface area and, more importantly, due to the coverage of NOx adsorption sites
287
by the formed sulfates species (see Figure S6). The adsorption capacity could not be
288
restored on the 5%CeWTi-r catalyst since the sulfate species were still present after
289
regeneration. Moreover, the ratio of Oα/Oα + Oβ decreased after in situ poisoning. It is
290
believed that Oα is crucial for the oxidation of NO into NO2, a major step of the
291
“fast-SCR” process.
292
temperature after poisoning in H2-TPR, demonstrating that the reducibility decreased
293
after poisoning and remained after regeneration for the 5%CeWTi catalyst (see Figure 4).
294
All of the above results indicate that the 5%CeWTi catalyst can be deactivated
35
The position of the first reduction peak shifted to a high
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irreversibly after exposure to a gas flow of NH3 + SO2 + H2O + O2 at 200 °C. The
296
poisoning effect of a gas flow of NO + NH3 + SO2 + H2O + O2 on SCR activity was also
297
irreversibe over the 5%CeWTi catalyst (see Figure S7). In this work, it is important to
298
find that cerium sulfate species could form even in the presence of high concentration of
299
NH3. The possible mechanism of sulfate poisoning and regeneration is shown in Scheme
300
1.
301
SO2 poisoning is one of the most important problems for LT-SCR catalysts, which is
302
the major obstacle for their industrial application. It has been reported that the formation
303
of MnSO4 is the main reason for the deactivation of MnOx/Al2O3 in the presence of SO2
304
and that MnSO4 only decomposes at temperatures higher than 1290 °C.
305
have identified the formation of both ammonium sulfate and Cu sulfate species in
306
Cu-SAPO-34.
307
decomposition of Cu sulfate species. Despite the introduction of additives that can react
308
more easily with SO2, which can prolong the poisoning of active sites, 2, 36 the formation
309
of metal sulfates species ultimately leads to the irreversible deactivation of LT-SCR
310
catalysts.
311
4.2 Regeneration of VWTi catalysts (Recycling of VWTi for LT-SCR?).
312 313
8
34
Researchers
It was found that a temperature higher than 480 °C is needed for the
Although the addition of W to V2O5/TiO2 catalysts is believed to improve the sulfur resistance in NH3-SCR,
33, 37, 38
the effect of sulfur poisoning could not be neglected for 17
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the LT-SCR activity of VWTi.
315
was also significantly affected by poisoning in a stream of NH3 + SO2 + H2O + O2 at
316
200 °C for 24 h. The deactivation of 1%VWTi was primarily due to the deposition of
317
NH4HSO4 on the catalyst surface. The BET surface area obviously decreased and the
318
NOx adsorption capacity notably diminished. After poisoning, 1%VWTi-p showed almost
319
no capacity for NOx adsorption, which might be the most important reason for the
320
decrease of LT-SCR activity. Meanwhile, sulfur poisoning had little effect on the crystal
321
structure, surface V species and reducibility of the 1%VWTi catalyst.
322
In the present work, the SCR activity of 1%VWTi
It has been reported that the LT-SCR activity can be enhanced as the increase of 39
323
vanadium loading on VWTi catalysts,
324
the catalysts is intensified at high vanadium loading.
325
effect of SO2 could not be avoided in LT-SCR over high V2O5 loading catalysts. In the
326
present work, after regeneration at 400 °C, the NH4HSO4 species decomposed on the
327
1%VWTi-r catalyst. The BET surface area and NOx adsorption capacity recovered and a
328
certain amount of sulfates (possibly VOSO4) remained on the catalyst surface, resulting
329
in an even better SCR activity at low temperature. For industrial application, it is
330
suggested that the direct application of V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalyst in LT-SCR is also
331
difficult, only if regenerating after a period of time as NH4HSO4 accumulates on the
332
catalyst surface in the flue gas.
whereas, SO2 oxidation and sulfur poisoning of 40
It seems that the deactivation
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AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
335
#
336
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
L.X., C.W. and H.C. have equal contributions.
337
This work was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China
338
(No. 2016YFC0203900, 2016YFC0203901), National Natural Science Foundation of
339
China (Grant No. 51778619, 21577173), Postdoc Grant (No. 043206019) and the Sino
340
Japanese Cooperation Project (Grant No. 2016YFE0126600).
341
Supporting Information Available.
342
Characterization method, XPS, XRD, TPD and additional results are shown. This
343
information is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org/.
344 345
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Table 1. The BET specific surface area, NH3 adsorption amount, bulk S content and
467
surface atomic ratios of the fresh, poisoned and regenerated catalysts. Samples
BET
NH3
NH3
bulk
specifi
adsorpti
adsorption
S
c
on
amount per
conte
surface
amounta
surface area
nt b
area
(µmol/g)
(µmol/m2)
(%)
Surface atomic ratios c (%) S
Oα /
Ce3+/
V5+/
(Oα+Oβ)
(Ce3++Ce4
(V3++V4+
+
+V5+)
)
2
(m /g)
1%VWTi
53.0
184.2
3.48
-
25.2
-
-
44.6
1%VWTi-p
46.2
218.1
4.72
0.56
17.5
1.72
-
37.5
23.3
0.95
-
42.7
2 1%VWTi-r
49.6
119.8
2.41
0.09 85
5%CeWTi
54.0
237.1
4.39
-
32.2
-
23.6
-
5%CeWTi-
34.9
269.3
7.71
1.35
28.2
3.15
33.8
-
44.9
128.6
2.88
0.54
28.1
1.88
34.1
-
p 5%CeWTir
468
8
a. calculated from NH3-TPD; b. from ICP; c. calculated from XPS.
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Figure captions
470
Figure 1. NOx conversions of the fresh, poisoned, and regenerated samples: (a) 1%VWTi
471
catalysts, (b) 5%CeWTi catalysts. Reaction conditions: [NO] = [NH3] = 500 ppm, [O2] =
472
5 % and N2 as balance, GHSV = 30,000 h-1.
473
Figure 2. TGA profiles of pure NH4HSO4, Ce2(SO4)3, TiO2-p, 1%VWTi-p and
474
5%CeWTi-p samples. All the samples were tested in a flow of air.
475
Figure 3. XPS profiles of S 2p (a), V 2p (c), O 2p (e) in 1%VWTi samples and S 2p (b),
476
V 2p (d), O 2p (f) in 5%CeWTi samples.
477
Figure 4. H2-TPR curves of fresh, poisoned and regenerated samples. (a) 1%VWTi, (b)
478
5%CeWTi.
479
Figure 5. NO+O2-TPD results of fresh, poisoned and regenerated samples. (a) 1%VWTi,
480
(b) 5%CeWTi.
481
Scheme 1. The proposed mechanisms of low-temperature SCR over in situ poisoned and
482
regenerated 1%VWTi and 5%CeWTi catalysts.
27
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483 484
Figure 1. NOx conversions of the fresh, poisoned, and regenerated samples: (a) 1%VWTi
485
catalysts, (b) 5%CeWTi catalysts. Reaction conditions: [NO] = [NH3] = 500 ppm, [O2] =
486
5 % and N2 as balance, GHSV = 30,000 h-1.
487
488 489
Figure 2. TGA profiles of pure NH4HSO4, Ce2(SO4)3, TiO2-p, 1%VWTi-p and
490
5%CeWTi-p samples. All the samples were tested in a flow of air.
491 28
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493
494
495 496
Figure 3. XPS profiles of S 2p (a), V 2p (c), O 2p (e) in 1%VWTi samples and S 2p (b),
497
V 2p (d), O 2p (f) in 5%CeWTi samples.
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498 499
Figure 4. H2-TPR curves of fresh, poisoned and regenerated samples. (a) 1%VWTi, (b)
500
5%CeWTi.
501
30
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503 504
Figure 5. NO+O2-TPD results of fresh, poisoned and regenerated samples. (a) 1%VWTi,
505
(b) 5%CeWTi.
506
31
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507
508 509
Scheme 1. The proposed mechanisms of low-temperature SCR over in situ poisoned and
510
regenerated 1%VWTi and 5%CeWTi catalysts.
511
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Table of Contents
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515
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