An overview of the deactivation mechanism and modification methods of the SCR catalysts for denitration from marine engine exhaust

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology is currently the most effective deNO_x technology and has broad application prospects. Moreover, there is a large NO_x content in marine engine exhaust. However, the marine engine SCR catalyst will be affected by heavy metals, SO₂, H₂O_(g), hydrocarbons (HC) and particulate matter (PM) in the exhaust, which will hinder the removal of NO_x via SCR. Furthermore, due to the high loading operation of the marine engine and the regeneration of the diesel particulate filter (DPF), the exhaust temperature of the engine may exceed 600 °C, which leads to sintering of the SCR catalysts. Therefore, the development of new catalysts with good tolerances to the above emissions and process parameters is of great significance for further reducing NO_x from marine engines. In this work, we first elaborate on the mechanism of the SCR catalyst poisoning caused by marine engine emissions, as well as the working mechanism of SCR catalysts affected by the engine exhaust temperature. Second, we also summarize the current technologies for improving the properties of SCR catalysts with the aim of enhancing the resistance and stability under complex working conditions. Finally, the challenges and perspectives associated with the performance optimization and technology popularization of marine SCR systems are discussed and proposed further. Consequently, this review may provide a valuable reference and inspiration for the development of catalysts and improvement in the denitration ability of SCR systems matched with marine engines.

Effect of FeOx and MnOx doping into the CeO2–V2O5/TiO2 nanocomposite on the performance and mechanism in selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3

FeO_x–CeO₂–V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst showed higher N₂ selectivity and resistance to SO₂ and H₂O than MnO_x–CeO₂–V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst due to their different physicochemical properties. The interaction of Fe, Ce and V oxides and reaction mechanism were explored.

Understanding the high performance of an iron-antimony binary metal oxide catalyst in selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide with ammonia and its tolerance of water/sulfur dioxide

In recent years, Fe-based catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH₃ (NH₃-SCR) have been attracting more attention. In this work, a novel Fe-Sb binary metal oxide catalyst was synthesized using the ethylene glycol assisted co-precipitation method and was characterized using a series of techniques. It was found that the catalyst with a molar ratio of 7:3 (Fe:Sb) displayed the best NH₃-SCR activity with 100% conversion of NO_x (nitrogen oxides) over a wide temperature window and with good resistance to H₂O + SO₂ at 250 °C. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and in situ diffused reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (in situ DRIFTS) of NO_x adsorption results suggested that strong electron interactions between Fe and Sb in Fe-O-Sb species existed and electrons of Sb could be transferred to Fe through the 2Fe³⁺ + Sb³⁺ ↔ 2Fe²⁺ + Sb⁵⁺ redox cycle. The introduction of Sb significantly improved the adsorption behaviour of NO_x species on the Fe_0.7Sb_0.3O_x surface, which benefitted the adsorption/transformation of NO_x, thereby facilitating the NH₃-SCR reaction. In addition, the Fe_0.7Sb_0.3O_x catalyst demonstrated a good tolerance of H₂O and SO₂, since the decomposition of NH₄HSO₄ on the catalyst surface was promoted by the introduction of Sb.

Sb-Containing Metal Oxide Catalysts for the Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx with NH3

Sb-containing catalysts (SbZrOx (SbZr), SbCeOx (SbCe), SbCeZrOx (SbCeZr)) were prepared by citric acid method and investigated for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR). SbCeZr outperformed SbZr and SbCe and exhibited the highest activity with 80% NO conversion in the temperature window of 202–422 °C. Meanwhile, it also had good thermal stability and resistance against H2O and SO2. Various characterization methods, such as XRD, XPS, H2-TPR, NH3-TPD, and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT), were applied to understand their different behavior in NOx removal. The presence of Sb in the metal oxides led to the difference in acid distribution and redox property, which closely related with the NH3 adsorption and NO oxidation. Brønsted acid and Lewis acid were evenly distributed on SbCe, while Brønsted acid dominated on SbCeZr. Compared with Brønsted acid, Lewis acid was slightly active in NH3-SCR. The competition between NH3 adsorption and NO oxidation was dependent on SbOx and metal oxides, which were found on SbCe while not on SbCeZr.

Selective catalytic reduction of NOx by NH3 over CeVO4-CeO2 nanocomposite

In this study, it was found that the CeVO₄-CeO₂ nanocomposite possessed remarkably selective catalytic reduction (SCR) performance and wider active temperature scope. And, the promotion principle was explored based on BET, XRD, XPS, H₂-temperature-programmed reduction, NH₃-temperature-programmed desorption, and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) techniques. The characterization outcomes manifested that the CeVO₄-CeO₂ nanocomposite could inhibit its crystallinity and enhance the concentrations of chemisorbed oxygen species and Ce³⁺, which was advantageous to the SCR process. Moreover, the in situ DRIFT technique manifested that the NH₃-SCR reaction over Ce_0.75V_0.25O_y was enhanced effectively through the mechanism of L-H.

The poisoning mechanisms of different zinc species on a ceria-based NH3-SCR catalyst and the co-effects of zinc and gas-phase sulfur/chlorine species

Low-medium temperature NH₃-SCR technology has been applied for years in municipal solid wastes incineration (MSWI) to control the emissions of nitrogen oxides. Unlike coal-fired flue gases, the tail gas from MSWI contains high levels of heavy metals in fly ash, especially the zinc species, which may harm SCR catalysts. As such, in this paper, the deactivation mechanism of different zinc species (ZnO, ZnSO₄ and ZnCl₂) on the Sb-CeZr₂O_x catalysts and the co-effects of zinc species and gas-phase pollutants (including SO₂ and HCl) were investigated. The experimental results indicated that the deactivation rate of various poisoning zinc species was in the order of ZnCl₂ > ZnSO₄ > ZnO. Moreover, the interactions between zinc and antimony species would disrupt the structure of the Sb-Ce mixed oxides to decrease the redox ability, consequently suppressing the ammonia activation and NO adsorption. Furthermore, such damaging effects on catalyst structures would promote the formation of bulk-like sulfate species in the presence of SO₂, resulting in a decreased mobility of surface oxygen species, which significantly decrease the sulfur resistance. However, the presence of HCl did not show an evident co-effect on the Zn poisoned sample owing to the limited coverage of the chlorine deposition.

One-pot synthesis of layered mesoporous ZSM-5 plus Cu ion-exchange: Enhanced NH3-SCR performance on Cu-ZSM-5 with hierarchical pore structures

Hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolite with meso- and micro-pore structures was successfully prepared through a facile one-pot hydrothermal synthesis method using bifunctional template. After copper ion-exchange, it was applied for the selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH₃ (NH₃-SCR). Compared with conventional Cu-ZSM-5 catalyst containing only micropores, the hierarchical catalyst with ca. 2 wt.% Cu loading displayed significantly improved catalytic performance. Particularly, the hierarchical zeolite catalyst also displayed excellent hydrothermal stability and sulfur resistance that exhibited great potential in practical application. Characterization techniques such as XRD, N₂ physisorption, temperature programmed desorption/reduction (TPD/TPR) and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (in situ DRIFTS) were comprehensively used to reveal the relationship between zeolite structure and catalytic properties. It was concluded that the hierarchically porous structure could not only improve the mass transfer of reactant/product but also provide larger specific surface area, higher surface acidity, larger NO adsorption capacity. And we found that bidentate nitrate species was more active in Cu-ZSM-5-meso than Cu-ZSM-5-C, which were all beneficial to the NH₃-SCR reaction. This work can provide a guideline to design other high performance hierarchical zeolites with different crystalline structures (such as CHA, LTA) for efficient catalytic NOx removal processes.

Boosting the low-temperature activity and sulfur tolerance of CeZr2Ox catalysts by antimony addition for the selective catalytic reduction of NO with ammonia

In this paper, a series of Sb modified CeZr₂O_x mixed oxides (Sb_yCZ) were synthesized by citrate method for the selective catalytic reduction of NO with ammonia (NH₃-SCR). Experimental results exhibited that the Sb addition could bring a great improvement of SCR activity at 200-360 °C owing to the enhancement in surface area, redox ability and surface acidity. More importantly, the sulfur tolerance of the catalyst with proper Sb loading contents was dramatically improved. For instance, above 85% deNO_x efficiency was retained over Sb_0.5CZ catalyst after 24 h reaction in the presence of 100 ppm SO₂ and 5 vol.% H₂O. As for pure CeZr₂O_x and the catalysts with low Sb loading contents, the serious accumulation of ammonium sulfates resulted in the deactivation after SO₂ exposure. However, with excessive Sb addition, more labile oxygen readily reacted with SO₂ and the redox cycle was then disrupted, leading to the decrease of SCR activity. With an appropriate Sb loading contents, the sulfate species preferentially formed around Sb cations could restrain the further consumption of oxygen species in Ce-O-Ce or Ce-O-Zr mode by SO₂ via a space confinement effect. Thus, a certain amount of labile oxygen was preserved to drive the SCR reaction, thereby enhancing the sulfur tolerance of the catalyst.

Surface acidity enhancement of CeO2 catalysts via modification with a heteropoly acid for the selective catalytic reduction of NO with ammonia

The surface acidity enhanced CeO₂ catalysts exhibited a SCR reaction path that both mechanisms existed but E-R dominated.

Doping effect of Sm on the TiO2/CeSmOx catalyst in the NH3-SCR reaction: structure–activity relationship, reaction mechanism and SO2 tolerance

A good balance between the redox properties and surface acidity induces the high activity of the Sm doped TiO₂/CeO₂ catalyst.

Performance of Mn-Fe-Ce/GO-x for Catalytic Oxidation of Hg0 and Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx in the Same Temperature Range

A series of composites of Mn-Fe-Ce/GO-x have been synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Their performance in simultaneously performing the catalytic oxidation of Hg0 and the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the same temperature range were investigated. In order to investigate the physicochemical properties and surface reaction, basic tests, including Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), XRD, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were selected. The results indicate that the active components deposited on graphene play an important role in the removal of mercury and NOx, with different valences. Especially, the catalyst of Mn-Fe-Ce/GO-20% possesses an excellent efficiency in the temperature range of 170 to 250 °C. Graphene has a huge specific surface area and good mechanical property; thus, the active components of the Mn-Fe-Ce catalyst can be highly dispersed on the surface of graphene oxide. In addition, the effects of O2, H2O, NO and SO2 on the removal efficiency of Hg0 were examined in flue gas. Furthermore, the regeneration experiments conducted by thermal methods proved to be promising methods.

Active Site of O2 and Its Improvement Mechanism over Ce-Ti Catalyst for NH3-SCR Reaction

The current study on Ce-Ti catalyst was mainly focused on the function of NH3 and NO adsorption sites. In our study, by comparing Ce-Ti (doped catalyst) to Ce/Ti (supported catalyst), the active site of O2 and its improvement mechanism over Ce-Ti catalyst for NH3-Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) reactions were investigated. For Ce-Ti catalyst, a cerium atom was confirmed entering a TiO2 crystal lattice by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman; the structure of Ce-□-Ti (□ represents oxygen vacancy) in Ce-Ti catalyst was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Photoluminescence spectra (PL spectra). The nature of this structure was characterized by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), Ammonia temperature-programmed desorption (NH3-TPD), hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), Nitric oxide temperature-programmed desorption (NO-TPD) and In situ DRIFT. The results indicated that oxygen vacancies had a promotive effect on the adsorption and activation of oxygen, and oxygen was converted to superoxide ions in large quantities. Also, because of adsorption and activation of NO and NH3, electrons were transferred to adsorbed oxygen via oxygen vacancies, which also promoted the formation of superoxide ions. We expected that our study could promote understanding of the active site of O2 and its improvement mechanism for doped catalyst.

Highly active and porous single-crystal In2O3 nanosheet for NOx gas sensor with excellent response at room temperature

Porous single-crystal In₂O₃ nanosheet was well-designed and prepared through calcination after liquid reflux, then exhibited a distinguished response, fast response time to NOx with good selectivity and low detection limit at room temperature.