Selective catalytic reduction of NO with propene over CuMFI zeolites: dependence on Si/Al ratio and copper loading

Selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxide by propene in an oxidising atmosphere was studied on several CuMFI catalysts with different Si/Al ratios (11 Si/Al 100) and different copper loadings (between 0 and 5.5 wt.-%). From the results it was observed that the influence of zeolite Si/Al ratio on CuMFI catalytic activity for NO SCR by propene is dependent on the catalyst copper loading. Furthermore, the effect of catalyst copper loading on catalytic performance depended on the catalyst Si/Al ratio. The results also demonstrated that CuMFI catalysts with different Si/Al ratios and copper loadings, but with the same Cu/Al ratio and, therefore, the same copper exchange level have similar catalytic activity profiles for NO SCR.

It was further observed that not all Cu cations exchanged into MFI catalysts have equivalent catalytic activity for NO SCR, which made the existence of different copper environments on CuMFI catalysts evident, isolated Cu²⁺ ions being the most active species for NO SCR by propene.

Moreover, the results showed an improvement of the CuMFI catalytic activity at low temperatures by increasing the catalyst copper exchange level and, consequently, decreasing the number of Brönsted acid sites, which can be performed either by increasing the zeolite Si/Al ratio or copper loading.