Ion-exchanged pillared clays for selective catalytic reduction of NO by ethylene in the presence of oxygen

Ion-exchanged pillared clays (PILCs) were studied as catalysts for selectiv e catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO by ethylene. Three most important pillare d clays, Al2O3-PILC (or Al-PILC), ZrO2-PILC (or Zr-PILC) and TiO2-PILC (or Ti-PILC), were synthesized. Cation exchanges were performed to prepare the following catalysts:Cu-Ti-PILC, Cu-Al-PILC, Cu-Zr-PILC, Cu-Al-Laponite, Fe- Ti-PILC, Ce-Ti-PILC, Ce-Ti-PILC, Co-Ti-PILC, Ag-Ti-PILC and Ga-Ti-PILC. Cu- Ti-PILC showed the highest activities at temperatures below 370 degrees C, while Cu-Al-PILC was most active at above 370 degrees C, and both catalysts were substantially more active than Cu-ZSM-5. No detectable N2O was formed by all of these catalysts. H2O and SO2 only slightly deactivated the SCR a ctivity of Cu-Ti-PILC, whereas severe deactivation was observed for Cu-ZSM- 5. The catalytic activity of Cu-Ti-PILC was found to depend on the method a nd amount of copper loading. The catalytic activity increased with copper c ontent until it reached 245% ion-exchange. The doping of 0.5 wt% Ce2O3 on C u-Ti-PILC increased the activities from 10% to 30% while 1.0 wt% of Ce2O3 d ecreased the activity of Cu-Ti-PILC due to pore plugging. Cu-Ti-PILC was fo und to be an excellent catalyst for NO SCR by NH3, but inactive when CH4 wa s used as the reducing agent. Subjecting the Cu-Ti-PILC catalyst to 5% H2O and 50 ppm SO2 at 700 degrees C for 2 h only slightly decreased its activit y. TPR results showed that the overexchanged (245%) PILC sample contained C u2+, Cu+ and CuO. The TPR temperatures for the Cu-Ti-PILC were substantiall y lower than that for Cu-ZSM-5, indicating easier redox on the PILC catalys t and hence higher SCR activity. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.