Role of the size and texture properties of copper-on-alumina pellets during the simultaneous removal of SO2 and NOx from flue gas

The role of the size and texture properties of industrial copper-on-alumina pellets for the simultaneous removal of SO2 and NOx from flue gas on their behavior and kinetics of SO2 capture is examined. The rate of reaction is influenced by both the intrinsic kinetics and rate of diffusion of SO2 which in turn depends on the shape and texture properties of the pellets. A kinetic model, derived for small beads and based on the grain model modified to take into account the mechanism of SO2 capture in the form of copper- and alumina-based surface sulfate species, was used for the design of pellets and the simulation of the behavior in fixed-bed flow reactor tests. The effectiveness of the sorbent-catalyst in the capture of SO2 in now reactor tests depends on the total volume and the mesoporous characteristics of the samples.