Simultaneous removal of NOx and SO₂ with H₂O₂ over silica sulfuric acid catalyst synthesized from fly ash

Considering that the utilization of fly ash in the removal of flue gas pollutants not only provide a way of high value-added utilization of fly ash, but also greatly reduce the cost of removing flue gas pollutant, the synthesis of silica sulfuric acid catalyst from fly ash and its application in simultaneous removal of NOx and SO₂ with H₂O₂ were investigated in this work. Circulating fluidized bed boiler (CFB) fly ash and pulverized coal boiler (PC) fly ash were selected as raw material to prepare silica sulfuric acid catalyst by H₂SO₄ activation. PC fly ash was difficult to be activated by H₂SO₄ due to its dense structure, while CFB fly ash could be treated with H₂SO₄ to promote dealumination, thereby increasing the silica content. Moreover, the -SO₃H withdrawing groups were detected on the silica surface by XPS and Py-FTIR technologies, indicating the formation of silica sulfuric acid. Silica sulfuric acid showed higher activity in catalyzing the NO oxidation by H₂O₂, and a possible reaction mechanism was proposed. Combined with alkali absorption, 99% SO₂ and 92% NOx removal efficiencies can be achieved. The effects of activation conditions such as activation temperature, activation time and calcination temperature and removal experimental parameters such as H₂O₂ concentration, SO₂ concentration and simulated flue gas temperature on the catalytic performance were studied. Finally, the catalyst was not found to be deactivated for ten hours in the stability test.