Catalytic reduction of NOx with H2/CO/CH4 over PdMOR catalysts

Conversion of NO_x with reducing agents H₂, CO and CH₄, with and without O₂, H₂O, and CO₂ were studied with catalysts based on MOR zeolite loaded with palladium and cerium. The catalysts reached high NO_x to N₂ conversion with H₂ and CO (>90% conversion and N₂ selectivity) range under lean conditions. The formation of N₂O is absent in the presence of both H₂ and CO together with oxygen in the feed, which will be the case in lean engine exhaust. PdMOR shows synergic co-operation between H₂ and CO at 450–500 K. The positive effect of cerium is significant in the case of H₂ and CH₄ reducing agent but is less obvious with H₂/CO mixture and under lean conditions. Cerium lowers the reducibility of Pd species in the zeolite micropores. The catalysts showed excellent stability at temperatures up to 673 K in a feed with 2500 ppm CH₄, 500 ppm NO, 5% O₂, 10% H₂O (0–1% H₂), N₂ balance but deactivation is noticed at higher temperatures. Combining results of the present study with those of previous studies it shows that the PdMOR-based catalysts are good catalysts for NO_x reduction with H₂, CO, hydrocarbons, alcohols and aldehydes under lean conditions at temperatures up to 673 K.     

The origin of N2O formation in the selective catalytic reduction of NOx by NH3 in O2 rich atmosphere on Cu-faujasite catalysts

The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO_x (NO + NO₂) by NH₃ in O₂ rich atmosphere has been studied on Cu-FAU catalysts with Cu nominal exchange degree from 25 to 195%. NO₂ promotes the NO conversion at NO/NO₂ = 1 and low Cu content. This is in agreement with next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) Cu ions as the most active sites and with N_xO_y adsorbed species formed between NO and NO₂ as a key intermediate. Special attention was paid to the origin of N₂O formation. CuO aggregates form 40–50% of N₂O at ca. 550 K and become inactive for the SCR above 650 K. NNN Cu ions located within the sodalite cages are active for N₂O formation above 600 K. This formation is greatly enhanced when NO₂ is present in the feed, and originated from the interaction between NO (or NO₂) and NH₃. The introduction of selected co-cations, e.g. Ba, reduces very significantly this N₂O formation.     

Catalytic reduction of N2O over steam-activated FeZSM-5 zeolite: Comparison of CH4, CO, and their mixtures as reductants with or without excess O2

The catalytic reduction of N₂O by CH₄, CO, and their mixtures has been comparatively investigated over steam-activated FeZSM-5 zeolite. The influence of the molar feed ratio between N₂O and the reducing agents, the gas-hourly space velocity, and the presence of O₂ on the catalytic performance were studied in the temperature range of 475–850 K. The CH₄ is more efficient than CO for N₂O reduction, achieving the same degree of conversion at significantly lower temperatures. The apparent activation energy for N₂O reduction by CH₄ was very similar to that of direct N₂O decomposition (140 kJ mol⁻¹), being much lower for the N₂O reduction by CO (60 kJ mol⁻¹). This suggests that the reactions have a markedly different mechanism. Addition of CO using equimolar mixtures in the ternary N₂O + CH₄ + CO system did not affect the N₂O conversion with respect to the binary N₂O + CH₄ system, indicating that CO does not interfere in the low-temperature reduction of N₂O by CH₄. In the ternary system, CO contributed to N₂O reduction when methane was the limiting reactant. The conversion and selectivity of the reactions of N₂O with CH₄, CO, and their mixtures were not altered upon adding excess O₂ in the feed.     

Influence of NO2 on the selective catalytic reduction of NO with ammonia over Fe-ZSM5

The influence of NO₂ on the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with ammonia was studied over Fe-ZSM5 coated on cordierite monolith. NO₂ in the feed drastically enhanced the NO_x removal efficiency (DeNOx) up to 600 °C, whereas the promoting effect was most pronounced at the low temperature end. The maximum activity was found for NO₂/NO_x = 50%, which is explained by the stoichiometry of the actual SCR reaction over Fe-ZSM5, requiring a NH₃:NO:NO₂ ratio of 2:1:1. In this context, it is a special feature of Fe-ZSM5 to keep this activity level almost up to NO₂/NO_x = 100%. The addition of NO₂ to the feed gas was always accompanied by the production of N₂O at lower and intermediate temperatures. The absence of N₂O at the high temperature end is explained by the N₂O decomposition and N₂O-SCR reaction. Water and oxygen influence the SCR reaction indirectly. Oxygen enhances the oxidation of NO to NO₂ and water suppresses the oxidation of NO to NO₂, which is an essential preceding step of the actual SCR reaction for NO₂/NO_x < 50%. DRIFT spectra of the catalyst under different pre-treatment and operating conditions suggest a common intermediate, from which the main product N₂ is formed with NO and the side-product N₂O by reaction with gas phase NO₂.     

Alumina- and titania-based monolithic catalysts for low temperature selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides

The selective catalytic reduction of NO+NO₂ (NO_x) at low temperature (180–230°C) with ammonia has been investigated with copper-nickel and vanadium oxides supported on titania and alumina monoliths. The influence of the operating temperature, as well as NH₃/NO_x and NO/NO₂ inlet ratios has been studied. High NO_x conversions were obtained at operating conditions similar to those used in industrial scale units with all the catalysts. Reaction temperature, ammonia and nitrogen dioxide inlet concentration increased the N₂O formation with the copper-nickel catalysts, while no increase was observed with the vanadium catalysts. The vanadium-titania catalyst exhibited the highest DeNO_x activity, with no detectable ammonia slip and a low N₂O formation when NH₃/NO_x inlet ratio was kept below 0.8. TPR results of this catalyst with NO/NH₃/O₂, NO₂/NH₃/O₂ and NO/NO₂/NH₃/O₂ feed mixtures indicated that the presence of NO₂ as the only nitrogen oxide increases the quantity of adsorbed species, which seem to be responsible for N₂O formation. When NO was also present, N₂O formation was not observed.     

Transient analysis of the release and reduction of NOx using a Pt/Ba/Al2O3 catalyst

The release and reduction of NO_x in a NO_x storage-reduction (NSR) catalyst were studied with a transient reaction analysis in the millisecond range, which was made possible by the combination of pulsed injection of gases and time resolved time-of-flight mass spectrometry. After an O₂ pulse and a subsequent NO pulse were injected into a pellet of the Pt/Ba/Al₂O₃ catalyst, the time profiles of several gas products, NO, N₂, NH₃ and H₂O, were obtained as a result of the release and reduction of NO_x caused by H₂ injection. Comparing the time profiles in another analysis, which were obtained using a model catalyst consisting of a flat 5 nmPt/Ba(NO₃)₂/cordierite plate, the release and reduction of NO_x on Pt/Ba/Al₂O₃ catalyst that stored NO_x took the following two steps; in the first step NO molecules were released from Ba and in the second step the released NO was reduced into N₂ by H₂ pulse injection. When this H₂ pulse was injected in a large amount, NO was reduced to NH₃ instead of N₂.

A only small amount of H₂O was detected because of the strong affinity for alumina support. We can analyze the NO_x regeneration process to separate two steps of the NO_x release and reduction by a detailed analysis of the time profiles using a two-step reaction model. From the result of the analysis, it is found that the rate constant for NO_x release increased as temperature increase.     

Influence of CO2 and H2O on NOx storage and reduction on a Pt–Ba/γ-Al2O3 catalyst

In this paper, the effect of CO₂ and H₂O on NO_x storage and reduction over a Pt–Ba/γ-Al₂O₃ (1 wt.% Pt and 30 wt.% Ba) catalyst is shown. The experimental results reveal that in the presence of CO₂ and H₂O, NO_x is stored on BaCO₃ sites only. Moreover, H₂O inhibits the NO oxidation capability of the catalyst and no NO₂ formation is observed. Only 16% of the total barium is utilized in NO storage. The rich phase shows 95% selectivity towards N₂ as well as complete regeneration of stored NO. In the presence of CO₂, NO is oxidized into NO₂ and more NO_x is stored as in the presence of H₂O, resulting in 30% barium utilization. Bulk barium sites are inactive in NO_x trapping in the presence of CO₂·NH₃ formation is seen in the rich phase and the selectivity towards N₂ is 83%. Ba(NO₃)₂ is always completely regenerated during the subsequent rich phase. In the absence of CO₂ and H₂O, both surface and bulk barium sites are active in NO_x storage. As lean/rich cycling proceeds, the selectivity towards N₂ in the rich phase decreases from 82% to 47% and the N balance for successive lean/rich cycles shows incomplete regeneration of the catalyst. This incomplete regeneration along with a 40% decrease in the Pt dispersion and BET surface area, explains the observed decrease in NO_x storage.     

Zeolite-mediated removal of NOx by NH3 from exhaust streams at low temperatures

NH₃ stored on zeolites in the form of NH₄⁺ ions easily reacts with NO to N₂ in the presence of O₂ at temperatures <373 K under dry conditions. Wet conditions require a modification of the catalyst system. It is shown that MnO₂ deposited on the external surface of zeolite Y by precipitation considerably enhances the NO_x conversion by zeolite fixed NH₄⁺ ions in the presence of water at 400–430 K. Particle-size analysis, temperature-programmed reduction, textural characterization, chemical analysis, ESR and XRD gave a subtle picture of the MnO₂ phase structure. The MnO₂ is a non-stoichiometric, amorphous phase that contains minor amounts of Mn²⁺ ions. It loses O₂ upon inert heating up to 873 K, but does not crystallize or sinter. The phase is reducible by H₂ in two stages via intermediate formation of Mn₃O₄. The manufacture of extrudates preserving stored NH₄⁺ ions for NO_x reduction is described. It was found that MnO₂ can oxidize NO by bulk oxygen. This enables the reduction of NO to N₂ by the zeolitic NH₄⁺ ions without gas-phase oxygen for limited time periods. The composite catalyst retains storage capacity for both, oxygen and NH₄⁺ ions despite the presence of moisture and allows short-term reduction of NO without gaseous O₂ or additional reductants. The catalyst is likewise suitable for steady-state DeNO_x operation at higher space velocities if gaseous NH₃ is permanently supplied.     

A combination of NOx trapping materials and urea-SCR catalysts for use in the removal of NOx from mobile diesel engines

Preliminary studies on a series of nanocomposite BaO–Fe ZSM-5 materials have been carried out to determine the feasibility of combining NO_x trapping and SCR-NH₃ reactions to develop a system that might be applicable to reducing NO_x emissions from diesel-powered vehicles. The materials are analysed for SCR-NH₃ and SCR-urea reactivity, their NO_x trapping and NH₃ trapping capacities are probed using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and the activities of the catalysts for promoting the NH_{3 ads} + NO/O₂ → N₂ and NO_{x ads} + NH₃ → N₂ reactions are studied using temperature programmed surface reaction (TPSR).     

Impact of redox conditions on thermal deactivation of NOx traps for diesel

Performance of NO_x traps after high-temperature treatments in different redox environments was studied. Two types of treatments were considered: aging and pretreatment. Lean and rich agings were examined for a model NO_x trap, Pt–Ba/Al₂O₃. These were done at 950 °C for 3 h, in air and in 1% H₂/N₂, respectively. Lean aging had a severe impact on NO_x trap performance, including HC and CO oxidation, and NH₃ and N₂O formation. Rich aging had minimal impact on performance, compared to fresh/degreened performance. Deactivation from lean aging was essentially irreversible due to Pt sintering, but Pt remained dispersed with the rich aging. Pretreatments were examined for a commercially feasible fully formulated NO_x trap and two model NO_x traps, Pt–Ba/Al₂O₃ and Pt–Ba–Ce/Al₂O₃. Pretreatments were done at 600 °C for 10 min, and used feed gas that simulated diesel exhaust under several conditions. Lean pretreatment severely suppressed NO_x, HC, CO, NH₃ and N₂O activities for the ceria-containing NO_x traps, but had no impact on Pt–Ba/Al₂O₃. Subsequently, a relatively mild rich pretreatment reversed this deactivation, which appears to be due to a form of Pt–ceria interaction, an effect that is well known from early work on three-way catalysts. Practical applications of results of this work are discussed with respect to NO_x traps for light-duty diesel vehicles.     

Selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 over Cu-ZSM-5—The effect of changing the gas composition

The selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) with ammonia over ZSM-5 catalysts was studied with and without water vapor. The activity of H-, Na- and Cu-ZSM-5 was compared and the result showed that the activity was greatly enhanced by the introduction of copper ions. A comparison between Cu-ZSM-5 of different silica to alumina ratios was also performed. The highest NO conversion was observed over the sample with the lowest silica to alumina ratio and the highest copper content. Further studies were performed with the Cu-ZSM-5-27 (silica/alumina = 27) sample to investigate the effect of changes in the feed gas. Oxygen improves the activity at temperatures below 250 °C, but at higher temperatures O₂ decreases the activity. The presence of water enhances the NO reduction, especially at high temperature. It is important to use about equal amounts of nitrogen oxides and ammonia at 175 °C to avoid ammonia slip and a blocking effect, but also to have high enough concentration to reduce the NO_x. At high temperature higher NH₃ concentrations result in additional NO_x reduction since more NH₃ becomes available for the NO reduction. At these higher temperatures ammonia oxidation increases so that there is no ammonia slip. Exposing the catalyst to equimolecular amounts of NO and NO₂ increases the conversion of NO_x, but causes an increased formation of N₂O.     

Role of active oxygen transients in selective catalytic reduction of N2O with CH4 over Fe-zeolite catalysts

Sharp NO and O₂ desorption peaks, which were caused by the decomposition of nitro and nitrate species over Fe species, were observed in the range of 520–673 K in temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) from Fe-MFI after H₂ treatment at 773 K or high-temperature (HT) treatment at 1073 K followed by N₂O treatment. The amounts of O₂ and NO desorption were dependent on the pretreatment pressure of N₂O in the H₂ and N₂O treatment. The adsorbed species could be regenerated by the H₂ and N₂O treatment after TPD, and might be considered to be active oxygen species in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of N₂O with CH₄. However, the reaction rate of CH₄ activation by the adsorbed species formed after the H₂ and N₂O or the HT and N₂O treatment was not so high as that of the CH₄ + N₂O reaction over the catalyst after O₂ treatment. The simultaneous presence of CH₄ and N₂O is essential for the high activity of the reaction, which suggests that nascent oxygen species formed by N₂O dissociation can activate CH₄ in the SCR of N₂O with CH₄.     

Co3O4 based catalysts for NO oxidation and NOx reduction in fast SCR process

Reaction activities of several developed catalysts for NO oxidation and NO_x (NO + NO₂) reduction have been determined in a fixed bed differential reactor. Among all the catalysts tested, Co₃O₄ based catalysts are the most active ones for both NO oxidation and NO_x reduction reactions even at high space velocity (SV) and low temperature in the fast selective catalytic reduction (SCR) process. Over Co₃O₄ catalyst, the effects of calcination temperatures, SO₂ concentration, optimum SV for 50% conversion of NO to NO₂ were determined. Also, Co₃O₄ based catalysts (Co₃O₄-WO₃) exhibit significantly higher conversion than all the developed DeNO_x catalysts (supported/unsupported) having maximum conversion of NO_x even at lower temperature and higher SV since the mixed oxide Co-W nanocomposite is formed. In case of the fast SCR, N₂O formation over Co₃O₄-WO₃ catalyst is far less than that over the other catalysts but the standard SCR produces high concentration of N₂O over all the catalysts. The effect of SO₂ concentration on NO_x reduction is found to be almost negligible may be due to the presence of WO₃ that resists SO₂ oxidation.     

Characterization and performance of Pt-USY in the SCR of NOx with hydrocarbons under lean-burn conditions

Pt-USY was used for the selective catalytic reduction of NO_x with hydrocarbons in the presence of excess oxygen. The catalyst was prepared by an ion-exchange method and characterized by XRD, TEM, CO chemisorption, and Ar adsorption at 87 K. The platinum particle size distribution was found to be broad (2–20 nm), with no apparent sintering of the active phase during the HC-SCR process after 25 h time-on-stream. Generally, large metal clusters (>15 nm) are situated at the external surface of the zeolite, while the smaller ones are located in the pores of the support. Pt-USY shows an excellent activity in the deNO_x reaction (molar NO_x conversion 90% at 475 K) with propene as the reductant in 5 kPa O₂, as well as stable operation during time-on-stream. Propane only yields a low NO_x conversion compared to propene. The presence of high oxygen contents (5–10 kPa O₂) slightly inhibits the reaction. No significant decrease in deNO_x activity was observed at high space velocities (up to 100,000 h⁻¹). The presence of SO₂ and H₂O in the feed stream did not significantly affect the deNO_x activity. Pt-USY performs better under lean-burn conditions than other Pt-catalysts supported on e.g. ZSM-5, Al₂O₃, or SiO₂. The selectivity to N₂ was similar to the other Pt-based catalysts (30%), the other major product being N₂O.     

Selective catalytic reduction of N2O and NOx in a single reactor in the nitric acid industry

The nitric acid industry is a source of both NO_x and N₂O. The simultaneous selective catalytic reduction of both compounds using propane as a reductant has been investigated. A stacked catalyst bed with first a Co-ZSM-5 catalyst and second a Pd/Fe-ZSM-5 catalyst gives >80% conversion of N₂O and NO_x above 300 °C at atmospheric pressure. At 4 bar absolute pressure (bara) the Co-ZSM-5 DeNO_x catalyst shows higher NO_x and propane conversion. This leaves not enough propane for the Pd/Fe-ZSM-5 DeN₂O catalyst, which causes a ‘dip’ in N₂O conversion. Reducing the space velocity (SV) of the first catalyst bed secures high NO_x and N₂O conversions from 300 °C and up at 4 bara.     

Activity and stability of Ag–alumina for the selective catalytic reduction of NOx with methane in high-content SO2 gas streams

In this work, we investigated the activity and stability of Ag–alumina catalysts for the SCR of NO with methane in gas streams with a high concentration of SO₂, typical of coal-fired power plant flue gases. Ag–alumina catalysts were prepared by coprecipitation–gelation, and dilute nitric-acid solutions were used to remove weakly bound silver species from the surface of the as prepared catalysts after calcination. SO₂ has a severe inhibitory effect, essentially quenching the CH₄-SCR reaction on this type catalysts at temperatures <600 °C. SO₂ adsorbs strongly on the surface forming aluminum and silver sulfates that are not active for CH₄-SCR of NO_x. Above 600 °C, however, the reaction takes place without catalyst deactivation even in the presence of 1000 ppm SO₂. The reaction light-off coincides with the onset of silver sulfate decomposition, indicating the critical role of silver in the reaction mechanism. SO₂ is reversibly adsorbed on silver above 600 °C. While alumina sites remain sulfated, this does not hinder the reaction. Sulfation of alumina only decreases the extent of adsoption of NO_x, but adsorption of NO_x is not the limiting step. Methane activation is the limiting step, hence the presence of sulfur-free Ag–O–Al species is a requirement for the reaction. Strong adsorption of SO₂ on Ag–alumina decreases the rates of the reaction, and increases the activation energies of both the reduction of NO to N₂ and the oxidation of CH₄, the latter more than the former. Our results indicate partial contribution of gas phase reactions to the formation of N₂ above 600 °C. H₂O does not inhibit the reaction at 625 °C, and the effect of co-addition of H₂O and SO₂ is totally reversible.     

The importance of Fe loading on the N2O reduction with NH3 over Fe-MFI: Effect of acid site formation on Fe species

Effect of the loading amount of Fe over ion-exchanged Fe-MFI catalysts on the catalytic performance of N₂O reduction with NH₃ was investigated, and the results indicated that the turnover frequency (TOF) was almost constant in the Fe/Al range between 0.05 and 0.40. The activity of N₂O + NH₃ reaction was much lower than that of N₂O + CH₄ reaction over Fe-MFI (Fe/Al = 0.40), and the preadsorption of NH₃ decreased drastically the activity of N₂O + CH₄ reaction. The temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of NH₃ showed the formation of stronger acid sites on Fe-MFI (Fe/Al = 0.24 and 0.40), and the amount of the acid sites agrees well with the desorption amount O₂ in O₂-TPD in the low temperature range. The acid sites gave a 3610 cm⁻¹ peak (Brønsted acid) in FTIR observation. These results suggest that the acid sites were formed on the bridge oxide ions in binuclear Fe species. Adsorbed NH₃ on the strong acid sites inhibited N₂O dissociation, which can be related to the low activity of N₂O + NH₃ reaction over Fe-MFI with high Fe loading.     

Surface-nitrogen removal in NO and N2O reduction on Pd(1 1 0): Angular distribution studies of desorbing products

This paper is a report of angle-resolved product desorption measurements in the course of catalyzed NO and N₂O reduction on Pd(1 1 0). Surface-nitrogen removal processes show different angular distributions, i.e. normally directed N₂ desorption takes place in process (i) 2N(a) → N₂(g). Highly inclined N₂ desorption towards the [0 0 1] direction is induced in process (ii) N₂O(a) → N₂(g) + O(a). N₂O or NH₃ desorption follows the cosine distribution characterizing the desorption after the thermalization in process (iii) N₂O(a) → N₂O(g) or (iv) N(a) + 3H(a) → NH₃(a) → NH₃(g). Thus, a combination of the angular and velocity distributions provides the analysis of most of surface-nitrogen removal processes in the course of catalyzed NO reduction.

At temperatures below 600 K, processes (ii) and (iii) dominate and process (iv) is enhanced at H₂ pressures higher than NO. Process (i) contributes significantly above 600 K. Only three processes except for NH₃ formation are operative when CO is used. Only process (ii) was observed in a steady-state N₂O + CO (or H₂) reaction.     

Catalytic oxidation of HCN over a 0.5% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst

The adsorption of HCN on, its catalytic oxidation with 6% O₂ over 0.5% Pt/Al₂O₃, and the subsequent oxidation of strongly bound chemisorbed species upon heating were investigated. The observed N-containing products were N₂O, NO and NO₂, and some residual adsorbed N-containing species were oxidized to NO and NO₂ during subsequent temperature programmed oxidation. Because N-atom balance could not be obtained after accounting for the quantities of each of these product species, we propose that N₂ and was formed. Both the HCN conversion and the selectivity towards different N-containing products depend strongly on the reaction temperature and the composition of the reactant gas mixture. In particular, total HCN conversion reaches 95% above 250 °C. Furthermore, the temperature of maximum HCN conversion to N₂O is located between 200 and 250 °C, while raising the reaction temperature increases the proportion of NO_x in the products. The co-feeding of H₂O and C₃H₆ had little, if any effect on the total HCN conversion, but C₃H₆ addition did increase the conversion to NO and decrease the conversion to NO₂, perhaps due to the competing presence of adsorbed fragments of reductive C₃H₆. Evidence is also presented that introduction of NO and NO₂ into the reactant gas mixture resulted in additional reaction pathways between these NO_x species and HCN that provide for lean-NO_x reduction coincident with HCN oxidation.     

SCR of NOx with CH3OH on H-mordenite: mechanism and reaction intermediates

The selective reduction of NO_x over H-mordenite (H-m) was studied using CH₃OH as reducing agent. Results are compared with those obtained with other conventional reducing agents (ethylene and methane), with gas-phase reactions, and with other metal-exchanged mordenites (Cu-mordenite (Cu-m) and Co-mordenite (Co-m)). H-m was found to be an effective catalyst for the SCR of NO_x with CH₃OH. When different reducing agents were compared over H-m, CH₃OH > C₂H₄ > CH₄ was the order according to the maximum NO conversion obtained using 1% of oxygen in the feed. Instead, if selectivity is considered, the order results CH₄ > CH₃OH > C₂H₄. In reaction experiments, two distinct zones defined by two maxima with NO to N₂ conversion are obtained at two different temperatures. A correlation exists between the said zones and the CO : CO₂ ratio. At low temperatures, CO prevails whereas at high temperatures CO₂ prevails. These results indicate that there exist different reaction intermediates. Evidence from reaction experiments, FTIR results, and transient experiments suggest that the reaction mechanism involves formaldehyde and dimethyl ether (DME) as intermediates in the 200–500°C temperature range. The surface interaction between CH₃OH (or its decomposition products) and NO is negligible if compared with NO₂, indicating that the oxidation of NO to NO₂ on acid sites is a fundamental path in this system. Different from other non-oxygenated reductants (methane and ethylene), a gas-phase NO_x initiation effect on hydrocarbon combustion was not observed.