A honeycomb catalyst for simultaneous NO and SO2 removal from flue gas: preparation and evaluation

A honeycomb catalyst is prepared by supporting CuO and Na2O on an Al2O3-coated cordierite ceramic for simultaneous SO2 and NO removal from flue gas at 400 °C. Results show that (1) acid treatment of the substrate (cordierite ceramic) plays an important role in enhancing the catalytic activities; (2) coating of Al2O3 on the substrate shows an obvious promoting effect on both SO2 and NO removal; (3) Na2O addition significantly improves SO2 removal activity but inhibits the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) activity of NO with NH3. A catalyst containing 8.0 wt.% Cu, 2.0 wt.% Na and 21 wt.% Al2O3 on the acid-washed cordierite ceramic shows good activities and stability in continued reaction-regeneration cycles, with a steady sulfur capacity of 4.4 wt.% and steady-state NO conversion of about 90% at 400 °C and a space velocity of 2800 h−1.