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Title: Production and use of activated char for combined SO{sub 2}/NO{sub x} removal. Technical report, March 1--May 31, 1995

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:10137682
; ; ;  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL (United States)
  2. Illinois Univ., Urbana, IL (United States)
  3. Research Triangle Inst., Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)

Carbon adsorbents have been shown to remove sulfur oxides from combustion flue gas, and also serve as a catalyst for reduction of nitrogen oxides at temperatures between 80 and 150{degree}C. The overall objective of this project is to determine whether Illinois coal is a suitable feedstock for the production of activated char which could be used as a catalyst for combined S0{sub 2}2/NO{sub x} removal, and to evaluate the potential application of the products in flue gas cleanup. Chars were prepared from IBC-102 coal under a wide range of pyrolysis and activation conditions. A novel char preparation technique was used to produce chars with S0{sub 2} adsorption capacities significantly greater than that of a commercial activated carbon. No correlation was found between the S0{sub 2} adsorption capacity and N{sub 2} BET surface area of the char. In addition, the S0{sub 2} capacity was inversely proportional to the amount of carbon-oxygen (C-0) complex on the char surface. The formation of stable C-0 complex during char preparation served only to occupy carbon sites that were otherwise reactive towards S0{sub 2} adsorption. The SO{sub 2} capacity of a series of IBC-102 chars normalized with respect to the number of unoccupied (free) sites on the char surface varied by less than a factor of two, which indicated an excellent correlation. Based on these results, a new mechanism for S0{sub 2} adsorption on carbon and conversion to H{sub 2}S0{sub 4} was proposed. The NO{sub x} removal potential of selected EBC-102 chars and commercial carbons were evaluated at temperatures between 22 and 130{degree}C. An IBC-102 char with superior NO{sub x} removal properties was identified. This high-activity char achieved 80% NO{sub x} removal at 22{degree}C. Further work is needed to discern the NO{sub x} removal mechanism.

Research Organization:
Illinois Dept. of Energy and Natural Resources, Springfield, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
FC22-92PC92521
OSTI ID:
10137682
Report Number(s):
DOE/PC/92521-T245; ON: TI96020469; BR: AV0100000/AV0102000
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 1995
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English