Nitrogen oxides reduction by liquid petroleum gas over Co-Ce-Ti catalysts in a simulated rotary reactor

Hydrocarbons could be used as the reductant for elimination of NOx emissions. Liquid petroleum gas, with higher carbon hydrocarbons and cheaper costs, may be of practical value as reducing agents. Due to the consumption of hydrocarbons by oxygen, the NOx reduction efficiency is significantly inhibited by oxygen in the flue gas. In this research, a novel rotary reactor, realizing the alternating cycle of adsorption zone and reduction zone, was proposed to overcome this negative effect. Co–Ce–Ti mixed oxide catalysts synthesized by a sol–gel method were tested in a simulated rotary reactor for NOx removal by liquid petroleum gas and characterized by SEM, BET, XRD and XPS. The results showed that catalysts exhibited better NO conversion efficiency at higher temperature but were highly susceptible to oxygen. Catalysts achieved nearly full removal of NOx from flue gas at 300 °C in a simulated rotary reactor, and 300 °C is considered to be the most optimum temperature with lower energy consumption and excellent flue gas purification performance.