An ammonia-free denitration method: Direct reduction of NO_x over activated carbon promoted by Cu-K bimetals

As ammonia slip becomes more serious with the traditional deNO_x application, ammonia-free technologies have received more and more attention recently. Cu-K bimetal loaded activated carbon catalysts were prepared by equivalent-volume impregnation method for the direct reduction of NO and showed good NO reduction performance in a wide temperature range under temperature-programmed surface reactions (TPSRs) conditions in aerobic and anaerobic environments. The catalysts were characterized by BET, SEM, XRD, XPS, H₂-TPR, Raman and FT-IR techniques and the NO reduction mechanism was analyzed. Experimental results show that the active functional groups formed on the surface of activated carbon are the important intermediate products and play a key role in the reduction reaction. The presence of O₂ greatly promotes the formation of the intermediate, C(O) (Oxygen-containing functional groups on the carbon surface), leading to the increase reduction rate of NO. The bimetallic oxides catalysts are obviously effective to directly reduce NO. When the ratio of copper: potassium is 2∶1, the NO reduction efficiency is about 90% at 300 °C. The catalytic activity mainly depends on the redox cycle of CuO/Cu₂O, and the potassium inhibits the agglomeration of copper on the surface of carbon materials and enhances the catalytic reactivity of Cu.