Sol-gel-derived alumina-supported copper oxide sorbent for flue gas desulfurization

Zhong Min Wang, Y. S. Lin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nanostructed mesoporous CuO/γ-Al2O3 granular sorbents were prepared by the sol-gel method. Performance of the sol-gel-derived CuO/γ-Al2O3 sorbents for SO2 removal was studied in a fixed-bed adsorption system. SO2 breakthrough curves with a feed stream of air containing 2000 ppm SO2 were measured at different temperatures (300-500 °C) and flow rates (interstitial velocity of 0.25-6.96 cm/s). The optimum sulfation and regeneration temperature on the sol-gel-derived sorbent was found to be 400 °C. The properties of the sol-gel-derived sorbents are compared with a similar sorbent from a commercial source used in the pilot-scale copper oxide flue gas desulfurization process. At high temperatures (>400 °C) the sol-gel-derived CuO sorbents exhibit catalytic properties for converting SO2 to SO3. The crush strength of the sol-gel-derived sorbents is about 5 times that of the commercial sample, while the attrition rate of the former is about 4-10 times smaller than the latter. The SO2 sorption capacity of the sol-gel-derived sorbent is about 3 times that of the commercial sorbent with a similar amount of CuO loading. The better mechanical properties and higher sulfation capacity of the sol-gel-derived alumina-supported copper oxide sorbents are due to their unique microstructure and the method used for coating CuO. The sulfation and regeneration study shows good regenerability and stability of the sol-gel-derived CuO/γ-Al2O3 sorbents.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4675-4681
Number of pages7
JournalIndustrial and Engineering Chemistry Research
Volume37
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - 1998
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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