Selective catalytic reduction of N2O in industrial emissions containing O2, H2O and SO2: behavior of Fe/ZSM-5 catalysts

The catalytic behavior in N₂O reduction by propane in the presence of O₂, H₂O and SO₂ of Fe/ZSM-5 catalysts prepared by ion exchange and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) is reported. The catalyst prepared by CVD shows a lower dependence of the rate of selective N₂O reduction on the decrease in C₃H₈ to N₂O ratio in the feed and a higher resistance to deactivation by SO₂ in accelerated durability tests with high SO₂ concentration (500 ppm). This catalyst shows stable catalytic behavior in the presence of SO₂ for more than 600 h of time-on-stream. Characterization of the catalysts by UV–VIS–NIR diffuse reflectance indicates that the poor performances of the sample prepared by ion exchange could be related to the presence of highly clustered Fe³⁺ species, in this catalyst. On the other hand, Fe₂O₃ particles are not present in the sample prepared by CVD while mainly isolated Fe³⁺ ions and iron-oxide nanoclusters are present.