Catalytic removal of SO2, NO and HCl from incineration flue gas over activated carbon-supported metal oxides

Activated carbon-supported copper, iron, or vanadium oxide catalysts were exposed to incineration flue gas to investigate the simultaneous catalytic oxidation of sulfur dioxide/hydrogen chloride and selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxide by carbon monoxide. The results show that AC-supported catalysts exhibit higher activities for SO2 and HCl oxidation than traditional gamma-Al2O3 -supported catalysts and the iron and vanadium catalysts act as catalysts instead of sorbents, and can decompose sulfate with evolution of SO2 and then regenerate for more SO2 adsorption to take place. The AC-supported catalysts also display a high activity for NO reduction with CO generated from a flue gas incineration process and the presence of SO2 in the incineration flue gas can significantly promote catalytic activity. Using CO as the reducing agent for NO reduction is more effective than using NH3, because NH3 may be partially oxidized in the presence of excess O-2 (12 vol%. in the incineration flue gas used) to form N-2, which can decrease the overall extent of NO reduction. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.