Mercury oxidation by hydrochloric acid over TiO2 supported metal oxide catalysts in coal combustion flue gas

Mercury oxidation by hydrochloric acid over the metal oxides supported by anatase type TiO2 catalysts, 1 wt.% MOx/TiO2 where M = V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Mo, was investigated by the Hg0 oxidation and the NO reduction measurements both in the presence and absence of NH3. The catalysts were characterized by BET surface area measurement and Raman spectroscopy. The metal oxides added to the catalyst were observed to disperse well on the TiO2 surface. For all catalysts studied, the Hg0 oxidation by hydrochloric acid was confirmed to proceed. The activity of the catalysts was found to follow the trend MoO3 ~ V2O5 > Cr2O3 > Mn2O3 > Fe2O3 > CuO > NiO. The Hg0 oxidation activity of all catalysts was depressed considerably by adding NH3 to the reactant stream. This suggests that the metal oxide catalysts undergo the inhibition effect by NH3. The activity trend of the Hg0 oxidation in the presence of NH3 was different from that observed in its absence. A good correlation was found between the NO reduction and the Hg0 oxidation activities in the NH3 present condition. The catalyst having high NO reduction activity such as V2O5/TiO2 showed high Hg0 oxidation activity. The result obtained in this study suggests that the oxidation of Hg0 proceeds through the reaction mechanism, in which HCl competes for the active catalyst sites against NH3. NH3 adsorption may predominate over the adsorption of HCl in the presence of NH3.