Low-Temperature Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO with NH3 over Natural Iron Ore Catalyst

The selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH 3 at low temperatures has been investigated with natural iron ore catalysts. Four iron ore raw materials from different locations were taken and processed to be used as catalysts. The methods of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H 2-TPR), ammonia temperature-programmed desorption (NH 3-TPD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the materials. The results showed that the sample A (comprised mainly of α-Fe 2O 3 and γ-Fe 2O 3), calcined at 250 °C, achieved excellent selective catalytic reduction (SCR) activity (above 80% at 170–350 °C) and N 2 selectivity (above 90% up to 250 °C) at low temperatures. Suitable calcination temperature, large surface area, high concentration of surface-adsorbed oxygen, good reducibility, lots of acid sites and adsorption of the reactants were responsible for the excellent SCR performance of the iron ore. However, the addition of H 2O and SO 2 in the feed gas showed some adverse effects on the SCR activity. The FT-IR analysis indicated the formation of sulfate salts on the surface of the catalyst during the SCR reaction in the presence of SO 2, which could cause pore plugging and result in the suppression of the catalytic activity. View Full-Tex