The hydrocracking of n-decane over bifunctional Ni-H3PW12O40/SiO2 catalysts

A series of bifunctional Ni-H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/SiO₂ catalysts for the hydrocracking of n-decane were designed and prepared. The evaluation results of the catalysts show that Ni-H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/SiO₂ catalysts possess a high activity for hydrocracking of n-decane and an excellent tolerance to the sulfur and nitrogen compounds in the feedstock. Under the reaction conditions: reaction temperature 300 °C; H₂/n-decane volume ratio of 1500; total pressure of 2 Mpa and the LHSV 2 h⁻¹, the conversion of n-decane over reduced 5%Ni-50%H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/SiO₂ catalysts is as high as 90%, the C₅⁺ selectivity equal to 70%. In order to reveal the structure and nature of the catalysts, a number of characterizations including XRD, Raman, H₂-TPD, NH₃-TPD, XPS and FT-IR of pyridine adsorption were carried out. The characteristic results show that the high activity of the catalysts and high C₅⁺ selectivity can be related to the unique structure of the H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ and its suitable acidity.     

Inhibition effect of H2O on V2O5/AC catalyst for catalytic reduction of NO with NH3 at low temperature

The inhibition effect of H₂O on V₂O₅/AC catalyst for NO reduction with NH₃ is studied at temperatures up to 250 °C through TPD, elemental analyses, temperature-programmed surface reaction (TPSR) and FT-IR analyses. The results show that H₂O does not reduce NO and NH₃ adsorption on V₂O₅/AC catalyst surface, but promotes NH₃ adsorption due to increases in Brønsted acid sites. Many kinds of NH₃ forms present on the catalyst surface, but only NH₄⁺ on Brønsted acid sites and a small portion of NH₃ on Lewis acid sites are reactive with NO at 250 °C or below, and most of the NH₃ on Lewis acid sites does not react with NO, regardless the presence of H₂O in the feed gas. H₂O inhibits the SCR reaction between the NH₃ on the Lewis acid sites and NO, and the inhibition effect increases with increasing H₂O content. The inhibition effect is reversible and H₂O does not poison the V₂O₅/AC catalyst.     

Selective catalytic reduction of NO and NO2 at low temperatures

The fast SCR reaction using equimolar amounts of NO and NO₂ is a powerful means to enhance the NO_x conversion over a given SCR catalyst. NO₂ fractions in excess of 50% of total NO_x should be avoided because the reaction with NO₂ only is slower than the standard SCR reaction.

At temperatures below 200 °C, due to its negative temperature coefficient, the ammonium nitrate reaction gets increasingly important. Half of each NH₃ and NO₂ react to form dinitrogen and water in analogy to a typical SCR reaction. The other half of NH₃ and NO₂ form ammonium nitrate in close analogy to a NO_x storage-reduction catalyst. Ammonium nitrate tends to deposit in solid or liquid form in the pores of the catalyst and this will lead to its temporary deactivation.

The various reactions have been studied experimentally in the temperature range 150–450 °C for various NO₂/NO_x ratios. The fate of the deposited ammonium nitrate during a later reheating of the catalyst has also been investigated. In the absence of NO, the thermal decomposition yields mainly ammonia and nitric acid. If NO is present, its reaction with nitric acid on the catalyst will cause the formation of NO₂.     

Low temperature decomposition of nitrous oxide over Fe/ZSM-5: Modelling of the dynamic behaviour

The kinetics of N₂O decomposition to gaseous nitrogen and oxygen over HZSM-5 catalysts with low content of iron (<400 ppm) under transient and steady-state conditions was investigated in the temperature range of 250–380 °C. The catalysts were prepared from the HZSM-5 with Fe in the framework upon steaming at 550 °C followed by thermal activation in He at 1050 °C. The N₂O decomposition began at 280 °C. The reaction kinetics was first order towards N₂O during the transient period, and of zero order under steady-state conditions. The increase of the reaction rate with time (autocatalytic behaviour) was observed up to the steady state. This increase was assigned to the catalysis by adsorbed NO formed slowly on the zeolite surface from N₂O. The formation of NO was confirmed by temperature-programmed desorption at temperatures >360 °C. The amount of surface NO during the transient increases with the reaction temperature, the reaction time, and the N₂O concentration in the gas phase up to a maximum value. The maximum amount of surface NO was found to be independent on the temperature and N₂O concentration in the gas phase. This leads to a first-order N₂O decomposition during the transient period, and to a zero-order under steady state. A kinetic model is proposed for the autocatalytic reaction. The simulated concentration–time profiles were consistent with the experimental data under transient as well as under steady-state conditions giving a proof for the kinetic model suggested in this study.     

Preparation of supported Pt-M catalysts (M = Mo and W) from anion-exchanged hydrotalcites and their catalytic activity for low temperature NO-H2-O2 reaction

The NO-H₂-O₂ reaction was studied over supported bimetallic catalysts, Pt-Mo and Pt-W, which were prepared by coexchange of hydrotalcite-like Mg-Al double layered hydroxides by Pt(NO₂)₄²⁻, MoO₄²⁻, and/or WO₄²⁻ and subsequent heating at 600 °C in H₂. The Pt–Mo interaction could obviously be seen when the catalyst after reduction treatment was exposed to a mixture of NO and H₂ in the absence of O₂. The Pt-HT catalyst showed the almost complete NO conversion at 70 °C, whereas the Pt-Mo-HT showed a negligible conversion. Upon exposure to O₂, however, Pt-Mo-HT exhibited the NO conversion at the lowest temperature of ≥30 °C, compared to ≥60 °C required for Pt-HT. EXAFS/XANES, XPS and IR results suggested that the role of Mo is very sensitive to the oxidation state, i.e., oxidized Mo species residing in Pt particles are postulated to retard the oxidative adsorption of NO as NO₃ and promote the catalytic conversion of NO to N₂O at low temperatures.     

Alumina supported cobalt–palladium catalysts for the reduction of NO by methane in stationary sources

In order to improve a “Three Function Catalysts Model”, the present paper deals with alumina based catalysts containing cobalt and palladium for the NO reduction by methane.

The deNO_x temperature window was estimated by adsorption and subsequent desorption of NO in lean conditions. Two NO_x desorption peaks were detected for both catalysts. For Pd(0.63)Co(0.58)/Al₂O₃, the two desorption peaks appeared at 205 and 423 °C, whereas for Pd(0.14)Co(0.57)/Al₂O₃, the maxima desorption temperature peaks were at 205 and 487 °C. In addition, NO oxidation was also studied to evaluate the catalyst first function. It was found that, the oxidation begins on Co–Pd/Al₂O₃ around 250 °C. On Pd(0.63)Co(0.58)/Al₂O₃, 8% of deNO_x were found in the range of the second NO_x desorption peak temperature (410 °C). During TPSR, C_xH_yO_z species such as formaldehyde were detected. These oxygenate species are the reactive intermediate for deNO_x by methane.     

Role of zeolite structure on NO reduction with diesel fuel over Pt supported zeolite catalysts

A highly desirable selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with real life diesel fuel over Pt supported zeolites with different topologies (Pt-ZSM-5, Pt-FER, Pt-MOR and Pt-BEA) is studied under simulated exhaust conditions. The catalysts are characterized by CO chemisorption, NH₃-TPD and TGA. The NO conversion ability of these catalysts has been correlated with zeolite structure and acidity. Pt-MOR is found to be the most active catalyst, 90% NO conversion at 300 °C, however Pt-FER showed highly desirable low temperature window, 77% NO conversion below 260 °C. Over ZSM-5, BEA and Y with three dimensional pore structures extensive carbonaceous deposits are observed by TGA which are detrimental to NO conversion. On the other hand, FER zeolite having one dimensional pore structure did not allow extensive coke formation resulting in a highly desired low temperature NO conversion. The results suggest that, NO reduction mainly take place near the zeolite pore opening, which is in reasonable agreement considering the long and bulky molecules in diesel fuel.     

Selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide by ethylene in the presence of oxygen over Cu ion-exchanged pillared clays

Cu²⁺ ion-exchanged pillared clays are substantially more active than Cu²⁺-ZSM-5 for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO by hydrocarbons. More importantly, H₂O (or SO₂) has only mild effects on their activities. First results on Cu²⁺-exchanged TiO₂-pillared montmorillonite were reported by this laboratory (Yang and Li, Ref. [1]), that showed overall activities two to four times higher than Cu²⁺-ZSM-5.

A delaminated pillared clay was subjected to Cu²⁺ ion-exchange and studied for SCR by C₂H₄ in this work. The Cu²⁺ ion-exchanged delaminated Al₂O₃-pillared clay yielded substantially higher SCR rates than both Cu²⁺-exchanged TiO₂-pillared clay and Cu²⁺-ZSM-5 at temperatures above 400°C. The peak NO conversion was 90% at 550°C and at a space velocity of 15,000 h⁻¹ (with O₂ = 2%). The peak temperature decreased as the concentration of O₂ was increased. The macroporosity in the delaminated pillared clay was partially responsible for its higher peak temperatures (than that for laminated pillared clays). At 1000 ppm each for NO and C₂H₄, the NO conversion peaked at 2% O₂ for all temperatures. H₂O and SO₂ caused only mild deactivation, likely due to competitive adsorption (of SO₂ on Cu²⁺ sites and H₂O on acid sites). The high activity of Cu²⁺-exchanged Al₂O₃-pillared clay was due to a unique combination of the redox property of the Cu²⁺ sites and the strong Lewis acidity of the pillared clay. The suggested mechanism involved NO chemisorption (in the presence of O₂) on Cu²⁺OAl³⁺-on the pillars, and C₂H₄ activation on the Lewis acid sites to form an oxygenated species.     

A comparison study on non-thermal plasma-assisted catalytic reduction of NO by C3H6 at low temperatures between Ag/USY and Ag/Al2O3 catalysts

A comparison study was carried out on non-thermal plasma (NTP)-assisted selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO_x by propene over Ag/USY and Ag/Al₂O₃ catalysts. Ag/USY was almost inactive in thermal SCR while it showed obvious activities in NTP-assisted SCR at 100 °C–200 °C. Although the NO_x conversion over Ag/Al₂O₃ was also enhanced at 300 °C–400 °C by the assistance of NTP, it was ineffective below 250 °C. The intermediates over Ag/USY and Ag/Al₂O₃ were investigated using in situ DRIFTS method. It was found that key intermediates in HC-SCR, such as NCO, CN, oxygenates and some N-containing organic species were enriched after the assistance of NTP. The differences in the behaviors of above intermediates were not found between these two kinds of catalysts. However, some evidences suggested that different properties of the absorbed NO_x species resulted in the distinction of SCR reactions over Ag/USY and Ag/Al₂O₃. TPD profiles of Ag/Al₂O₃ showed that nitrates formed over the catalyst were quite stable at low temperatures, which might occupy the active sites and were unfavorable to SCR reactions. The nitrates over Ag/USY were unstable, among which the unidentate nitrate species is probably contributed to the SCR reactions at low temperatures.     

Influence of the pre-treatment on the structure and reactivity of Ir/γ-Al2O3 catalysts in the selective reduction of nitric oxide by propene

The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitric oxide by propene over Ir/Al₂O₃ under lean-burn conditions (1000 vpm NO, 2000 vpm C₃H₆, 500 vpm CO, 10 vol.% O₂) was studied. The activity was shown to be strongly enhanced after exposure of the catalyst at 600°C under the reaction mixture, irrespective of the oxidising or reducing pre-treatment. Simultaneously, the Ir dispersion decreased from 78 to 10%. The influence of each component of the reaction mixture on the activation process was examined. The presence of both CO and O₂ was found to be necessary to activate Ir/Al₂O₃ while NO would not be. In situ FT-IR results revealed that initially fully oxidised Ir particles partially reduced in the feed to form Ir⁰ reduced surface sites (νCO at 2060 cm⁻¹) which adsorbed CO up to 350–400°C. The activation under reactants was related to the formation of these sites. The presence of reduced (or partially reduced) Ir sites, possibly siting at the surface of IrO₂ particles and stabilised by CO adsorption, was proposed to be responsible for the SCR activity.     

Changes in free radicals in coal-derived pyrites upon heating in N2, H2, and vacuum: Role of pyrite—pyrrhotite conversion

Through electron spin resonance (e.s.r.) studies, three different kinds of free radicals have been identified in pyrite samples containing coal impurities. Changes in the e.s.r. parameters (g-value, linewidths, and concentration n) of free radicals have been monitored as the coal-derived pyrites are heated in different atmospheres (vacuum, N₂ and H₂) from room temperature to 500°C in 50°C steps for a residence time of 30 min at each temperature. Changes in n (concentration/g) and other parameters begin to occur at 300°C in vacuum, at 200°C in N₂, and at 100°C in H₂ amtospheres. At these temperatures conversion of pyrite to pyrrhotite is also observed to occur. It is argued that the enhancement of n in these samples is related to the conversion mechanism of pyrite to pyrrhotites. The maximum relative increase in n follows the sequence n (vacuum)>n(N₂)>n(H₂). At high temperature n decreases due to recombination of free radicals formed so that at 500°C, all three types of radicals have small but equal concentrations.     

Modelling of an SCR catalytic converter for diesel exhaust after treatment: Dynamic effects at low temperature

As part of a fundamental and applied work on the development of an unsteady mathematical model of the NH₃-selective catalytic reduction (SCR) process for design and control of integrated after-treatment systems of heavy-duty engines, we present herein a transient kinetic analysis of the standard SCR NO + NH₃ system which provides new insight in the catalytic kinetics and mechanism prevailing at low temperatures. Based on kinetic runs performed over a commercial powdered V₂O₅–WO₃–TiO₂ catalyst in the 175–450 °C T-range feeding NH₃ and NO (1000 ppm) in the presence of H₂O (1–10%, v/v) and O₂ (2–6%, v/v), an original dual-site modified redox rate law is derived which effectively accounts for NH₃ inhibition effects observed during transient reactive experiments at T < 250 °C. We also demonstrate that implementation of the novel modified redox kinetics into a fully predictive 1D + 1D model of SCR monolith reactors can significantly improve simulations of SCR transient runs at different scales, including engine test bench experiments over full-scale SCR honeycomb catalysts.     

贫氧条件下正癸烷在Pt/ZSM-5上的催化燃烧特性

航空煤油实际燃烧过程中往往存在高化学当量比（Φ）的贫氧条件,导致航空煤油着火困难、燃烧效率较低。本文以航空煤油一元替代燃料正癸烷为燃料,实验研究了贫氧条件下（Φ=2~4）微圆管内Pt/ZSM-5催化剂和石英砂填充床中正癸烷的贫氧催化/无催化燃烧特性,分析了当量比（Φ=2~4）、温度（300~450℃）和催化剂对正癸烷转化率、燃烧效率以及气相产物分布特性的影响。结果表明：Pt/ZSM-5催化剂对正癸烷燃烧反应的促进作用明显,存在温度激增现象,当量比Φ从2增大到3.5时,动态着火点从196℃上升到271℃,而无催化则没有明显的着火点。贫氧催化条件下正癸烷的转化率始终低于无催化条件,但燃烧效率明显高于无催化。正癸烷催化燃烧的主要气相产物为CO₂,无催化的主要气相产物则为CO和烯烃。     

Integrated high temperature gas cleaning: Tar removal in biomass gasification with a catalytic filter

A nickel-based catalytic filter material for the use in integrated high temperature removal of tars and particles from biomass gasification gas was tested in a broad range of parameters allowing the identification of the operational region of such a filter. Small-scale porous alumina filter discs, loaded with approximately 2.5 wt% Al₂O₃, 1.0 wt% Ni and 0.5 wt% MgO were tested with a particle free synthetic gasification gas with 50 vol% N₂, 12 vol% CO, 10 vol% H₂, 11 vol% CO₂, 12 vol% H₂O, 5 vol% CH₄ and 0–200 ppm H₂S, and the selected model tar compounds: naphthalene and benzene. At a typical face velocity of 2.5 cm/s, in the presence of H₂S and at 900 °C, the conversion of naphthalene is almost complete and a 1000-fold reduction in tar content is obtained. Technically, it would be better to run the filter close to the exit temperature of the gasifier around 800–850 °C. At 850 °C, conversions of 99.0% could be achieved in typical conditions, but as expected, only 77% reduction in tars was achieved at 800 °C.

Conversion data can be reasonably well described with first order kinetics and a dominant adsorption inhibition of the Ni sites by H₂S. The apparent activation energies obtained are similar to those reported by other investigators: 177 kJ/mol for benzene and 92 kJ/mol for naphthalene. The estimated heat of adsorption of H₂S is 71 kJ/mol in the benzene experiments and 182 kJ/mol in the naphthalene experiments, which points at very strong adsorption of H₂S. Good operation of the present material can hence only be guaranteed at temperatures above 830 °C mainly due to the strong deactivation by H₂S at lower temperatures.     

Hydroisomerization and hydrocracking of long chain n-alkanes on Pt/amorphous SiO2–Al2O3 catalyst

The hydroisomerization and hydrocracking of n-hexadecane, n-octacosane and n-hexatriacontane on a 0.3% platinum/amorphous silica–alumina (MSA/E) catalyst was investigated in a stirred microautoclave at 345, 360 and 380°C and between 2 and 13.1 MPa hydrogen pressure. For each n-paraffin, the reaction pathway and the kinetic parameters were determined. The results were used to elucidate the effect of chain length and operating conditions on isomerization and cracking selectivity. The conversion of the n-paraffins lead to the formation of a mixture of the respective isomers, as the main product, together with cracking products. At every temperature, the iso-alkane/n-alkane ratio of cracking products increased considerably with increasing conversion degree. At the same conversion level, higher reaction temperatures lead to cracking products characterized by a lower iso-alkane/n-alkane ratio. The conversion rate constants showed a considerable increase between n-C₁₆ and n-C₂₈, whereas a slight decrease between n-C₂₈ and n-C₃₆ was observed. The hydroisomerization selectivities showed a decrease as a function of chain length and with increasing conversion levels. The increase in reaction temperature leads to a small decrease in the isomerization selectivities only at low-medium conversion degrees and at the highest temperature investigated, while the effect of this parameter on the maximum yields achievable in iso-C16, iso-C28 and iso-C36 was negligible. The results indicate that the conversion of the n-paraffins follows a first-order kinetic in hydrocarbon while the order in hydrogen pressure was −1.1 ± 0.21 for n-C₁₆ and −0.66 ± 0.15 for n-C₂₈. Furthermore, an increase in hydroisomerization selectivity at higher hydrogen pressure for n-C₂₈ conversion was observed.     

Effect of polyethylene glycol on the microstructure and PTCR characteristics of n-BaTiO3 ceramics

Porous BaTiO₃ (n-BaTiO₃) ceramics doped donor were fabricated by the addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG) into the n-BaTiO₃ powder. The effects of PEG on the microstructure and PTCR characteristics of the porous n-BaTiO₃ ceramics have been investigated. An endotherm was found at 60 °C, with strong exotherm at 262 °C, weight loss commenced at 165 °C and was virtually complete by 265 °C from the differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the PEG. It was also found that the porosity increased and the grain size decreased with increasing PEG. The crystalline structure of n-BaTiO₃ ceramics was independent on the PEG content and the n-BaTiO₃ ceramics containing PEG showed the presence of (Ba, Sr)TiO₃ peaks only from the XRD results. The n-BaTiO₃ ceramics containing PEG showed higher PTCR characteristics than that of the n-BaTiO₃ ceramics without PEG.     

Hydrodesulfurization of model diesel using Pt/Al2O3 catalysts prepared by supercritical deposition

Pt/Al₂O₃ catalysts with Pt loadings ranging from 0.5 to 11 wt.% were synthesized by supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) deposition method. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that the synthesized catalysts contained small Pt nanoparticles (1–4 nm in diameter) with a narrow size distribution, no observable agglomeration, and uniformly dispersed on the alumina support. The catalysts were found to be active for hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene (DBT) dissolved in n-hexadecane (n-HD) without sulfiding the metal phase. The reaction proceeded only via the direct hydrogenolysis route in the temperature range 310–400 °C and at atmospheric pressure. The activity increased with increasing the metal loading. Increasing [H₂]₀/[DBT]₀ by either increasing [H₂]₀ or decreasing [DBT]₀, increased the DBT conversion. At a fixed weight hourly space velocity and feed concentration, conversion did not increase with increasing temperature beyond 330 °C. The presence of toluene inhibited the catalyst activity presumably due to competitive adsorption between DBT and toluene. Under the operating conditions, the reaction was far from equilibrium.     

Reaction and characterization studies of an industrial Cr-free iron-based catalyst for high-temperature water gas shift reaction

Activity and stability of an industrial Cr-free iron-based catalyst (NBC-1) for high-temperature water gas shift (WGS) reaction were studied in a fixed-bed reactor under 350 °C, 1 atm, H₂O:gas = 1:1 and 3000 h⁻¹ (dry-gas basis). Physical properties of the NBC-1 catalyst before and after the WGS reaction, the desorption behavior of H₂O, CO, CO₂ and H₂, and surface reaction over the catalyst were characterized by BET, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Mössbauer emission spectroscopy (MES), temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and temperature programmed surface reaction (TPSR). The NBC-1 catalyst is active and has excellent thermo-stability even after pretreatment at a high temperature of 530 °C. Its activity and thermo-stability are comparable to those of an UCI commercial Fe-Cr catalyst, C12-4. XRD and MES studies show that iron in the fresh NBC-1 catalyst is present as γ-Fe₂O₃, most of which is converted to Fe₃O₄ during reduction and reaction. Results of TPD demonstrate that adsorbed CO₂ and CO cannot exist on the NBC-1 surface beyond the temperature of 300 °C while higher temperatures (>400 °C) are required to completely desorb H₂O. A redox mechanism of WGS on the NBC-1 surface is proposed based on the TPD and TPSR observations.     

Characterization and catalytic investigation of Fe-ZSM5 for urea-SCR

Fe-ZSM5 was prepared with high iron content by solid-state ion exchange and characterized by ICP-AES, BET surface measurements, TEM, UV–vis, EPR and DRIFT spectroscopy as well as supplementing catalytic tests in order to clear up its functionality in urea-SCR. Due to the over-exchange with iron small Fe₂O₃ particles were formed, identified by UV–vis, EPR and TEM measurements, which were proved to be not active for the SCR reaction. However, the oxidation of NO to NO₂ over Fe³⁺ ions in the catalyst was realized to be a pre-requisite for the SCR reaction and the rate-determining step. DRIFT investigations under SCR conditions showed adsorbates on Fe²⁺ up to 300 °C. The high SCR activity above 300 °C can be explained by the faster reoxidation of Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺ sites at high temperatures. The observed inhibition of the SCR reaction by excess ammonia at low and intermediate temperatures can be explained in this context by the reducing properties of ammonia converting Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺ or by preventing the reoxidation of Fe²⁺.     

Influence of zirconia raw materials on the development of DeNOx monolithic catalysts

Pd-zirconia-based monolithic catalysts were prepared with various commercial zirconia raw materials and a natural magnesium silicate binder, sepiolite, for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with CH₄ in oxygen excess. The different textural properties, metastable tetragonal zirconia phase stability, surface acidity, Pd dispersion and catalytic properties of these monoliths were compared to select the most suitable structured catalyst for NO_x control in natural gas-fired power plants. The influence of operating temperature in the two reactions, NO reduction and CH₄ combustion, with the monolithic catalysts was determined. A 0.4 wt.% Pd-zirconia catalyst, manufactured from a sulphated zirconium hydroxide raw material, was selected as the most appropriate in the reaction under study, reaching a maximum NO conversion at 400 °C.