High efficiency removal of NO using waste calcium carbide slag by facile KOH modification

Waste calcium carbide slags (CS), which are widely applied to desulfurisation, are not typically used in denitration. Herein, to well achieve waste control by waste, a facile and high-efficiency denitration strategy is developed using KOH to modify the calcium carbide slags (KCS). Various KCS samples were investigated using a series of physical and chemical characterisations. The performance test results showed that the KOH concentration and reaction temperature are the main factors affecting the denitration efficiency of KCS, and CS modified with 1.5 mol/L KOH (KCS-1.5) can achieve 100% denitration efficiency at 300°C. Such excellent removal efficiency is due to the catalytic oxidation of the oxygen-containing functional groups derived from the KCS. Further studies showed that KOH treatment significantly increased the concentration of oxygen vacancies, nitro compounds, and basic sites of CS. This study provides a novel strategy for the resource utilisation of waste CS in the future.