Abstract:
The effect of lead on the catalytic performance of Mn-Ce/TiO
2 catalysts in the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO
x with ammonia at low temperature was investigated; with the help of nitrogen sorption, XRD, FT-IR spectroscopy, H
2-TPR and NH
3-TPD characterization, the causes of lead poisoning and acid regeneration were clarified. The results indicate that the doping of Pb in Mn-Ce/TiO
2 leads to a significant decrease of the low-temperature SCR activity; with a Pb loading of 11%, the conversion of NO over Mn-Ce/TiO
2 at 180 °C decreases from original 100% on the fresh catalyst to 44% on the Pd-poisoned catalyst. The presence of Pb may reduce the content of active Mn
4+ and Ce
3+ species on the Mn-Ce/TiO
2 catalyst, which suppresses the redox cycle of Mn
4+ + Ce
3+ ↔ Mn
3+ + Ce
4+; moreover, the decrease of surface acidity on the Mn-Ce/TiO
2 catalyst by the doping of Pb is also disadvantageous to the adsorption and activation of NH
3. The Pd-poisoned Mn-Ce/TiO
2 can be regenerated by nitric acid treatment; after the regeneration, the catalytic activity of Mn-Ce/TiO
2 in NH
3-SCR of NO is almost completely recovered and even exceeds that of the fresh catalyst at 80–150 °C. The nitric acid treatment can restore the redox capacity of Mn-Ce/TiO
2, increase the surface area, and create new acid sites, which contribute to recovery of the activity of Pb-poisoned Mn-Ce/TiO
2 catalyst in NH
3-SCR.