Al2O3-supported Cu–Co bimetallic catalysts prepared with polyol process for removal of BTEX and PAH in the incineration flue gas

The polyol process is an effective method to generate well-dispersed nanoscale active sites on a support. To study the activity of catalysts prepared by polyol process, Cu1.25Co3.75/Al2O3, Cu2.5Co2.5/Al2O3, and Cu3.75Co1.25/Al2O3 were studied in a pilot-scale incinerator system to remove benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and the effect of lead in a flue gas was also discussed. The pilot-scale experiment results indicated that Cu1.25Co3.75/Al2O3 exhibited a good performance on organic compounds removal, without being poisoned by lead. The bimetal containing Cu/Co = 1/3 exhibits a better activity and stabilization on oxidation than the others. When the Cu/Co ratio was above one, the X-ray powder diffractometer, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses results revealed that several components (Cu0, CuO, and CuCo2O4) of the spent catalysts disappeared. This may be due to the active sites that were covered with an amount of CH3-groups.