Selective catalytic reduction of NO_x using RDF char and municipal solid waste char based catalyst

Experiments were performed in order to investigate the possibility for the development of catalysts for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction (SCR) using municipal waste char and RDF byproduct. Physical and chemical activations, using water, and HCl and KOH, were employed to increase the catalytic activities. The characteristics of the activated catalysts were investigated using N₂ adsorption–desorption and FT-IR. The catalysts activated chemically using basic treatment showed higher NO_x removal efficiencies than those activated physically or chemically using acidic treatment. The de-NO_x performance of the activated catalysts was dependent on the chemical properties, such as oxygen functional groups as well as physical properties, such as specific surface area and pore volume. In order to investigate the effect of MnO_x, which has been reported to be efficient for the removal of NO_x in low-temperature SCR processes, the chemically activated catalyst was impregnated with manganese. The Mn-impregnated catalyst had the highest NO_x conversion at all of the temperatures tested in this study.