CeO2/TiO2 Monolith Catalyst for the Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx with NH3: Influence of H2O and SO2

The influences of H₂O and SO₂ on CeO₂/TiO₂ monolith catalyst for the selective catalytic reduction(SCR) of NO_x with NH₃ were investigated. In the absence of SO₂, H₂O inhibited the SCR activity, which might be ascribed to the competitive adsorption of H₂O and reactants such as NH₃ and/or NO_x. SO₂ could promote the SCR activity of CeO₂/TiO₂ monolith catalyst in the absence of H₂O, while in the presence of H₂O it speeded the deactivation. During the SCR reaction in SO₂-containing gases, Ce(III) sulfate species formed on the catalyst surface, resulting in the enhancement of Brønsted acidity. This played a significant role in the enhanced SCR activity. However, in the presence of both H₂O and SO₂, a large amount of ammonium-sulfate salts formed on the catalyst surface, which resulted in the blocking of catalyst pores and deactivated the catalyst. In addition, the NO_x conversion was more sensitive to gas hourly space velocity in the presence of H₂O than in the absence of H₂O. The relatively high space velocity would result in a higher formation rate of ammonium-sulfate salts on per unit catalyst in the presence of H₂O and SO₂, which caused obvious deactivation of Ce/TiO₂ monolith catalyst.