Simultaneous SO₂/NOₓ removal from flue gas using catalyzed adsorbents
The fossil fuels consumption is the primary source of anthropogenic air pollution. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most prominent agent that contributes to global climate change. However, the threats of the other flue gas compositions such as the acid gases are constantly overlooked. The presence of...
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Format: | Thesis |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2019
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Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/84253/1/FK%202019%20103%20-%20ir.pdf |
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Summary: | The fossil fuels consumption is the primary source of anthropogenic air pollution.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most prominent agent that contributes to global climate
change. However, the threats of the other flue gas compositions such as the acid
gases are constantly overlooked. The presence of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen
dioxide (SO2 and NOx) will reduce the efficiency of CO2 capture while their reaction
with moisture will form acidic solutions which greatly reduce the life span of
pipelines and instrumentations. Furthermore, it also causes environmental and
properties degradation with health effects such as lung irritation, stroke, respiratory
problems, asthma, nose and throat irritation. Meanwhile, the multi-step SO2/NOx
removal techniques are complex with high capital cost, solvent losses, unwanted
foaming, flooding, equipment fouling and corrosive and others. Thus, the
simultaneous removal of SO2/NOx from flue gas by adsorption is a promising
alternative.
This work investigates the deposition precipitation, wet pore volume impregnation
and hydrothermal methods of synthesizing activated carbon monolith (ACM)
supported metal oxide adsorbents (Co3O4, CuO, V2O5 and CeO2). A total of twelve
adsorbents were developed and the activity tests were performed for real flue gas
generated from coal burning to capture SO2 and NOx. Based on the breakthrough
studies, the hydrothermally synthesized ACM with Co3O4 showed the best
performance according to the breakthrough studies. The HM-Co3O4/ACM catalyzed
adsorbent demonstrates high adsorption capacity for SO2 and NOx of 123.1 and
130.2 mg/g and the breakthrough time of 86 and 124 minutes respectively. The
adsorbent’s unique ability to high NOx adsorption affinity is a major breakthrough in
this research.Several characterization techniques were used to identify the physical and chemical
properties of HM, DP, IM-Co3O4/ACM catalyzed adsorbents,specifically the textural
properties (BET), thermal decomposition (TGA), functional groups (FTIR),
chemical composition (XRD) and the surface morphology (FESEM/ EDX) and
active site analysis (TPD-NH4). The optimization of the independent variables that
influences the adsorption capacity on HM-Co3O4/ACM catalyzed adsorbent by
response surface methodology (RSM) was carried out. Using the optimized values of
1 mg as the amount of adsorbent, 400 mL/min for flow rate and 100 oC for column
temperature, the experimental result for the adsorption capacity of SO2 and
NOxwere 134.5 and 152.1 mg/g respectively. The statistical analysis revealed that
the interaction between the independent variables and the adsorption capacity of
SO2/NOx were very significant which confirmed the quality and suitability of
models developed for the prediction of the process behavior.
Furthermore, the deactivated HM-Co3O4/ACM catalyzed adsorbent was regenerated
by deionized water and H2SO4 washing and subsequent thermal regeneration. The
stability of the regenerated adsorbent was very good after five regeneration cycles
with average regeneration efficiencies of 92.7% and 94.2% for SO2 and NOx. The
key regeneration parameters including regenerating temperature, regenerating time
and nitrogen stream flow rate were optimized using the response surface
methodology (RSM) technique. The RSM results showed that the prediction and
experimental results were in agreement where only 1.5% and 0.4% deviate in
regeneration efficiencies (RE-SO2 and RE-NOx). The physicochemical, structural,
textural, thermal and morphological properties of the regenerated adsorbent were
also investigated.
In conclusion, the adsorbent's unique ability to high NOx adsorption affinity was
demonstrated. It was found that this feat depends on the adsorbates concentration in
the flue gas, adsorbent preparation, synthesis method, operating temperature, the
amount of oxygen and the relative humidity. The stability and performance revealed
the potential of the adsorbent for effective approaches toward industrial application. |
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