Mercury oxidation by hydrochloric acid over a VOx/TiO2 catalyst

The effects of VOx loading in a VOx/TiO2 catalyst on mercury oxidation activity by hydrochloric acid were examined by infrared spectroscopy (DRIFT) and Hg0 oxidation measurement. Vanadium oxide added to the catalyst was found to be well dispersed over the TiO2 carrier up to the point of monolayer VOx coverage. The activity of Hg0 oxidation increased almost linearly with VOx loading below the monolayer capacity. Both monomeric and polymeric vanadyl sites were found to be active for Hg0 oxidation, which suggests that Hg0 oxidation activity of the VOx/TiO2 catalyst is not affected by the density of VOx site on the catalyst surface.