The promotional effect of MoO3 doped V2O5/TiO2 for chlorobenzene oxidation

Potential Strategy to Control the Organic Components of Condensable Particulate Matter: A Critical Review

More and more attention has been paid to condensable particulate matter (CPM) since its emissions have surpassed that of filterable particulate matter (FPM) with the large-scale application of ultralow-emission reform. CPM is a gaseous material in the flue stack but instantly turns into particles after leaving the stack. It is composed of inorganic and organic components. Organic components are an important part of CPM, and they are an irritant, teratogenic, and carcinogenic, which triggers photochemical smog, urban haze, and acid deposition. CPM organic components can aggravate air pollution and climate change; therefore, consideration should be given to them. Based on existing methods for removing atmospheric organic pollutants and combined with the characteristics of CPM organic components, we provide a critical overview from the aspects of (i) fundamental cognition of CPM, (ii) common methods to control CPM organic components, and (iii) catalytic oxidation of CPM organic components. As one of the most encouraging methods, catalytic oxidation is discussed in detail, especially in combination with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology, to meet the growing demands for multipollutant control (MPC). We believe that this review is inspiring for a fuller understanding and deeper exploration of promising approaches to control CPM organic components.

Study on the mechanism of NOx reduction by NH3-SCR over a ZnXCu1-XFe2O4 catalyst

Experimental evidence shows that CuFe₂O₄ exhibits excellent catalytic performance in the SCR reaction. However, there is a lack of in-depth research on its specific reaction mechanism. Our study begins by computing the adsorption model of molecules like NH₃ and then goes on to examine the SCR reaction mechanism of NH₃ on CuFe₂O₄ before and after Zn doping. The results indicate that NH₃ is chemically adsorbed (-1.26 eV) on the surface and has a strong interaction with the substrate. Importantly, Zn doping provides more favorable reactive sites for NH₃ molecules. Subsequent investigation into the NH₃ dehydrogenation and SCR reaction processes showed that incorporating Zn can greatly decrease the energy barrier of the most critical step in the reaction (0.58 eV). Additionally, the study also assesses the feasibility of the reaction of adsorbed NO with surface active O atoms to form NO₂ (barrier 0.86 eV). Lastly, the sulfur resistance of the catalyst before and after doping is calculated and analyzed, and it is found that Zn doping effectively improves the sulfur resistance. Our study provides valuable theoretical guidance for the development of ferrite spinel and doping modification.

Improved activity and stability for chlorobenzene oxidation over ternary Cu-Mn-O-Ce solid solution supported on cordierite

A series of CuMnO_x/CeO₂/cordierite and CuMnCeO_x/cordierite catalysts prepared by a complex method with citric acid were investigated for the performance of chlorobenzene (CB) oxidation. The effects of the molar ratio of Mn/Cu, transition metal oxide loading, calcination temperature and time were investigated as the main investigation factor for the performance. Meanwhile, XRD, SEM, BET, H₂-TPR, O₂-TPD and XPS were conducted to characterize the physicochemical properties of these catalysts. The results demonstrated that CuMnO_x/CeO₂/cordierite catalysts prepared by step-by-step synthesis with the Cu/Mn molar ratio of 5:2 exhibited a high activity (T₉₀ = 350 °C), owing to the incorporation of CuO and MnO_x for forming CuMn₂O₄ spinel oxide supported on CeO₂ surface. More importantly, CuMnCeO_x/cordierite catalysts prepared by one-step exhibited the highest oxidation activity (T₉₀ < 300 °C) attributed to the low H₂ reduction temperature and desorption energy of surface oxygen, and the formed Cu-Mn-O-Ce solid solution and CeO₂ promoted the high dispersion of CuMnO_x in the supported catalysts. In addition, the possible oxidation mechanism was described to demonstrate the by-products generation and oxygen transfer of CuMnCeO_x catalysts.

Elimination of PCDD/Fs over Commercial Honeycomb-Like Catalyst of V2O5-MoO3/TiO2 at Low Temperature: From Laboratory Experiments to Field Study

With the need for ultra-low emissions and the strict regulation of PCDD/Fs from MSWI plants, traditional SCR catalysts have been applied to remove PCDD/Fs. In this study, we compared one typical commercial V2O5-MoO3/TiO2 catalyst’s performance in removing PCDD/Fs under laboratory and industrial conditions. Various characterization methods like XRF, XPS, BET, and H2-TPR were applied to analyze the catalyst’s properties. The laboratory results showed that the adsorption could significantly affect the removal at low temperatures. The RE on PCDD/Fs was 59.4% (55.0% for toxicity RE), 88.5% (90.3%), and 78.0% (76.0%) at 160 °C, 180 °C, and 200 °C, respectively, showing that 180 °C is the most suitable operation temperature for this V2O5-MoO3/TiO2 catalyst. The field study was conducted at 180 °C, and the results revealed that the competition between water vapor and the interaction of SO2 could lower the RE. However, comparisons between laboratory and field conditions showed that this V2O5-MoO3/TiO2 catalyst still showed good stability, with only a 6.8% drop.

Controlling the Fe2O3-SiO2 interaction: The effect on the H2S selective catalytic oxidation and catalyst deactivation

Biogas utilization is one of the most promising options for reducing the consumption of fossil fuels for energy production, but the presence of H₂S represents a serious industrial and environmental problem. In this work, two different synthesis methods (sol-gel and incipient wetness impregnation) were used to synthesize iron oxide supported on silica catalysts (Fe₂O₃/SiO₂) with metal loadings ranging from 0.5 to 10 %wt. The catalysts were tested for the selective oxidation of H₂S, changing the operating conditions like O₂/H₂S (0.5-2.5), temperature (170-250°C), and water content (0-50%). The optimum condition was O₂/H₂S = 0.5 and no water at 230 °C with the conversion of approximately 100%, the selectivity of 97%, and the deactivation of 0.6%. A detailed characterization of the fresh and spent catalysts' surface revealed the presence of four deactivation mechanisms: metal surface reduction, oxygen vacancy loss, pore plugging, and sintering. Among the observed deactivation mechanisms, the sintering showed the highest impact on catalytic activity and deactivation. The sol-gel catalysts (SG) showed the highest metal-oxide/support interaction, which reduced the metal-oxide nanoparticles sintering compared with the incipient wetness impregnation method (IWI), reporting a lower sintering, higher activity, and selectivity, lower deactivation rates and lower sensitivity to the operating conditions. A catalytic cycle representing the possible surface intermediate states of the catalyst is proposed based on the performance and characterization results obtained.

The Synergistic Catalysis of Chloroaromatic Organics and NOx over Monolithic Vanadium-Based Catalysts at Low Temperature

In this study, four monolithic, vanadium-based catalysts in granular (Vox/TiO2), honeycomb-type (Vox-Wox/TiO2 and Vox-MoOx/TiO2), and corrugated forms (Vox-Wox/TiO2) were investigated by multiple characterization methods (BET, XRF, XPS, XRD, H2-TPR, and NH3-TPD). Their catalytic performances were evaluated by the oxidation-reduction performance of ortho-dichlorobenzene (o-DCB) and NO/NH3. The modification of Wox and MoOx could promote catalytic activity by accelerating the transformation of V5+/V4+ and enriching the strong acid sites. The introduction of NO/NH3 significantly impaired the o-DCB oxidation, ascribed to the competitive adsorption of reactants on acid sites. The performance of Vox/TiO2 and Vox-MoOx/TiO2 catalysts indicated that strong acidity could enhance catalytic abilities over o-DCB and Nox. Nevertheless, the CE (conversion efficiency) of o-DCB was more related to a large BET surface area and a high amount of V5+ species, while the CE of Nox was more associated with redox ability and Vox surface density. The V4+/V5+ and OS-A/OS-L ratio increased prominently after the oxidation of o-DCB, indicating that it was the reoxidation of V4+ species, rather than the supplement of oxygen, that limited the reaction rate. This work revealed catalytic activity was positively affiliated with the surface area, amount of V5+ species, transformation rate of V4+/V5+, redox ability, and abundance of strong acid sites. Additionally, the results could guide the selectivity and improvement of industrial low-temperature catalysts for synergistic elimination of chloroaromatic organics and Nox.

Mechanism insights into CO oxidation over transition metal modified V2O5/TiO2 catalysts: A theoretical study

The V₂O₅/TiO₂ based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts possess not only promising capability on the denitrification of nitrogen oxides (NO_x), but also certain effects on the oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) in the flue gas. Modification of traditional SCR catalysts with certain transition metals can further improve their catalytic oxidation ability of CO. Therefore, it is of great significance to reveal the catalytic oxidation mechanism of CO for developing modified SCR catalysts to achieve the co-removal of CO and NO_x. Theoretical calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) were performed to probe the comprehensive reaction mechanism of CO oxidation on M doped V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysts (M = Mo, Fe, and Co). The whole CO oxidation cycles include three stages, i.e., the first CO oxidation, the re-oxidation of the surface, and the second CO oxidation. The terminal oxygen and the surface oxygen formed by the adsorbed O₂ all play vital roles in the whole CO oxidation cycles. The activation barriers of the rate-determining steps for CO oxidation on Fe-V₂O₅/TiO₂ and Co-V₂O₅/TiO₂ are much lower than that of Mo-V₂O₅/TiO₂, which indicates Fe and Co dopants can apparently promote the CO oxidation activities of the modified SCR catalysts. Meanwhile, the electronic structure analysis confirms that Fe and Co dopants can cause electron distribution change with strong oxidation ability at the active oxygen sites.

Magnesium-Modified Co3O4 Catalyst with Remarkable Performance for Toluene Low Temperature Deep Oxidation

Co3O4, MgCo2O4 and MgO materials have been synthesized using a simple co-precipitation approach and systematically characterized. The total conversion of toluene to CO2 and H2O over spinel MgCo2O4 with wormlike morphology has been investigated. Compared with single metal oxides (Co3O4 and MgO), MgCo2O4 with the highest activity has exhibited almost 100% oxidation of toluene at 255 °C. The obtained results are analogous to typical precious metal supported catalysts. The activation energy of toluene over MgCo2O4 (38.5 kJ/mol) is found to be much lower than that of Co3O4 (68.9 kJ/mol) and MgO ((87.8 kJ/mol)). Compared with the single Co and Mg metal oxide, the as-prepared spinel MgCo2O4 exhibits a larger surface area, highest absorbed oxygen and more oxygen vacancies, thus highest mobility of oxygen species due to its good redox capability. Furthermore, the samples specific surface area, low-temperature reducibility and surface adsorbed oxygenated species ratio decreased as follows: MgCo2O4 > Co3O4 > MgO; which is completely in line with the catalytic performance trends and constitute the reasons for MgCo2O4 high excellent activity towards toluene total oxidation. The overall finding supported by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of toluene oxidation on the Co3O4 and MgCo2O4 suggest that the catalytic process follows a Mars–van Krevelen mechanism.

Multipollutant Control (MPC) of Flue Gas from Stationary Sources Using SCR Technology: A Critical Review

The emission of gaseous pollutants from the combustion of fossil fuels is believed to be one of the most serious environmental challenges in the 21st century. Given the increasing demands of multipollutant control (MPC) via adsorption or catalysis technologies, such as NO_x, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), heavy metals (Hg etc.), and ammonia, and considering investment costs and site space, the use of existing equipment, especially the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system to convert pollutants into harmless or readily adsorbed substances, is one of the most practical approaches. Consequently, many efforts have been directed at achieving the simultaneous elimination of multipollutants in a SCR convertor, and this method has been widely used to mitigate the stationary emission of NO_x. However, the development of active, selective, stable, and multifunctional catalysts/adsorbents suitable for large-scale commercialization remains challenging. Herein, we summarize recent works on the applications of SCR in MPC, describing the approaches of (i) SCR + VOCs oxidation, (ii) SCR + heavy metal control, and (iii) SCR + NH₃ reduction to reveal that the efficiency of simultaneous elimination depends on catalyst composition and flue gas parameters. Furthermore, the synergistic promotional/inhibitory effects between SCR and VOCs/ammonia/heavy metal oxidations are shown to be the key to the feasibility of the reactions.

Fabrication of MnOx-CeO2/cordierite catalysts doped with FeOx and CuO for preferable catalytic oxidation of chlorobenzene

A series of MnO_x-CeO₂ catalysts with MO_x doping (M = Cu, Fe, Co and La) supported on cordierite were synthesized by the citric acid complex method, showing preferable catalytic oxidation of chlorobenzene. The distribution of active oxides, surface areas, as well as the structural morphology of M-MnO_x-CeO₂ catalysts varied with the different Mn/Ce and M/Mn molar ratios. Meanwhile, physicochemical properties of these catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, SEM, TEM, H₂-TPR and IR. More importantly, the catalytic oxidation routes were also investigated where the process was from chlorobenzene to CO₂, H₂O, HCl and other by-products for the FeO_x-MnO_x-CeO₂ and CuO-MnO_x-CeO₂ catalysts. The CuO-MnO_x-CeO₂ catalysts showed a higher chlorobenzene conversion, and the measured light-off temperature T₉₀ was approximately 400°C. However, a large amount of chloropropane as main by-products was observed. For the FeO_x-MnO_x-CeO₂ catalysts, more carbon monoxide could be found with inadequate oxidation. Comparative analyses of two catalysts indicated that the main cause of the oxidation activities and mechanisms were different in the oxidation capacity and water absorbability of FeO_x and CuO. Nevertheless, all of these catalysts did not exhibit any deactivation due to chloride with a high reaction temperature, with chloride transformed to form HCl in the off-gas stream.

Nanostructured MoO3 for Efficient Energy and Environmental Catalysis

This paper mainly focuses on the application of nanostructured MoO₃ materials in both energy and environmental catalysis fields. MoO₃ has wide tunability in bandgap, a unique semiconducting structure, and multiple valence states. Due to the natural advantage, it can be used as a high-activity metal oxide catalyst, can serve as an excellent support material, and provide opportunities to replace noble metal catalysts, thus having broad application prospects in catalysis. Herein, we comprehensively summarize the crystal structure and properties of nanostructured MoO₃ and highlight the recent significant research advancements in energy and environmental catalysis. Several current challenges and perspective research directions based on nanostructured MoO₃ are also discussed.

Improving gas sensing performance by oxygen vacancies in sub-stoichiometric WO3-x

Sub-stoichiometric WO3-x has provided an alternative platform to investigate oxygen vacancies in gas sensors based on metal-oxides. We present an experimental study on the influence of sub-stoichiometric WO3-x phase upon gas sensing performance. High-quality WO3-x nanostructures with several x values (WO3, W19O55, W5O14, W18O49) were synthesized and used to fabricate H2S gas sensors. Temperature programmed desorption of oxygen (O2-TPD) shows that oxygen absorption behaviors of the as-prepared WO3-x nanostructures are affected by oxygen vacancies, which played a critical role in the detection of H2S at varying temperature range. We find that oxygen vacancies in sub-stoichiometric WO3-x facilitate the ionosorption process and in turn enhance the performance of the gas sensor.

Catalytic Applications of Vanadium: A Mechanistic Perspective

The chemistry of vanadium has seen remarkable activity in the past 50 years. In the present review, reactions catalyzed by homogeneous and supported vanadium complexes from 2008 to 2018 are summarized and discussed. Particular attention is given to mechanistic and kinetics studies of vanadium-catalyzed reactions including oxidations of alkanes, alkenes, arenes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and sulfur species, as well as oxidative C-C and C-O bond cleavage, carbon-carbon bond formation, deoxydehydration, haloperoxidase, cyanation, hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, ring-opening metathesis polymerization, and oxo/imido heterometathesis. Additionally, insights into heterogeneous vanadium catalysis are provided when parallels can be drawn from the homogeneous literature.

Preparation of a monolith MnOx–CeO2/La–Al2O3 catalyst and its properties for catalytic oxidation of toluene

The catalyst DP-MnCe prepared by the deposition–precipitation method has the best catalytic activity for toluene oxidation.