Simultaneous and/or separate SO2/NO reduction by CO over high surface area Cu/Ce containing mesoporous silica

In this work the catalytic performance of a highly thermal-stable mesoporous silica network of large specific surface area >800 m2 g−1containing Cu and Ce at a load >15 wt.%, in NO reduction by CO, SO2 reduction by CO as well as the simultaneous reduction of SO2 and NO by CO is reported.The results indicate a highly active and stable redox catalyst in the above reactions. The variation of the feeding concentration of CO leads to control over COS yield which can be eliminated at a ratio of CO/SO2 around 2.5, regarding the reaction of the reduction of SO2 by CO. As far as the simultaneous reduction of SO2 and NO by CO is concerned, the catalyst proved able to completely reduce NO and SO2 simultaneously by CO at a relevantly high GHSV 32000 h−1 to N2 and elemental sulfur, respectively, producing at the same time negligible amount of COS, while the results imply a competitive behavior between SO2 and NO.