# Patent

## Title
Octahedral molecular sieve sorbents and catalysts

## Abstract

Octahedral molecular sieve sorbents and catalysts are disclosed, including silver hollandite and cryptomelane. These materials can be used, for example, to catalyze the oxidation of COx (e.g., CO), NOx (e.g., NO), hydrocarbons (e.g., C3H6) and/or sulfur-containing compounds. The disclosed materials also may be used to catalyze other reactions, such as the reduction of NO2. In some cases, the disclosed materials are capable of sorbing certain products from the reactions they catalyze. Silver hollandite, in particular, can be used to remove a substantial portion of certain sulfur-containing compounds from a gas or liquid by catalysis and/or sorption. The gas or liquid can be, for example, natural gas or a liquid hydrocarbon.

## Background
RELATED APPLICATION DATA
This application is a continuation-in-part of International Patent Application No. PCT/US/2005/003600, filed Feb. 4, 2005, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/771,866, filed Feb. 4, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,153,345. This application also claims the benefit of the earlier filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/649,656, filed Feb. 3, 2005. International Patent Application No. PCT/US/2005/003600, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/771,866, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/649,656 are incorporated herein by reference.


GOVERNMENT RIGHTS
This invention was made with Government support under Contract Number DE-AC06-76RL01830 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Government has certain rights in the invention.


FIELD
This disclosure is generally related to pollution control and purification technologies, and more particularly, but not exclusively, is directed to octahedral molecular sieve sorbents and catalysts and uses therefore in emissions control and purification.
BACKGROUND
The combustion waste gases (i.e. the exhaust) of thermal power plants, factories, on-road vehicles, diesel generators, and the like typically contain SOx and NOx. State and federal regulations limit the permissible amounts of these emissions because they create environment problems, such as acid rain. Accordingly, there is a continual need for improvements in the cost effective and efficient control of these emissions.
One mechanism for limiting NOx and SOx emissions is to remove or scrub the pollutants from the exhaust gas using a sorption bed, trap or similar device. Because many NOx traps have been found to be poisoned by the presence of SOx, it is important to remove as much SOx from the exhaust gas as possible. However, as compared to the large volume of studies on NOx reduction, SOx removal using solid sorbents is an area in need of scientific advancement. Certain types of materials have been identified as possible solid sorbents for use in SOx sorption beds and traps, such as calcium oxide and alkalized alumina (Na/Al2O3 or K/Al2O3), copper-based sorbents (e.g., Cu/Al2O3), promoted metal oxides (e.g., TiO2, Al2O3 and ZrO2), promoted cerium oxide (La- or Cu-doped CeO2), and supported cobalt (Co/Al2O3). Unfortunately, over the temperature range of about 250° C. to 475° C., these materials typically have a relatively low sorption capacity. For example, their total sorption capacity of SO2 is typically less than about 10 wt % based on the weight of the sorbent, and their breakthrough sorption capacity can be substantially lower, depending on operating conditions. As it is combustion in this temperature range that leads to a significant portion of the total SOx emissions, a greater sorption capacity at these temperatures is needed.
One approach to increasing the sorption capacity of SOx sorption beds is to provide an oxidation catalyst upstream or admixed with the bed so as to convert most of the SO2 to SO3, since SO3 is generally more readily sorbed than SO2 due to its ability to form stable surface sulfates. However, the cost of recovery of the oxidation catalyst (frequently a precious metal) and the relatively poor conversion efficiency of SO2 to SO3 at temperatures below about 300° C. limits the effectiveness of this approach as well.
SUMMARY
Disclosed herein are systems and techniques for SOx emission control. Some disclosed embodiments concern materials for sorbing, trapping, or otherwise eliminating sulfur oxides from gases, such as sulfur oxides present in exhaust gases of internal combustion engines. These materials can include mixed oxides having a framework of metal cation or cations (M) each surrounded by 6 oxygen atoms. The octahedra (MO6) thus formed can be connected together by edges and vertices, resulting in a structure with channels in at least one direction in space. The sides of the channels can be formed by the linked octahedra. The octahedra can be connected together by the edges, while the sides of the channels are connected together by the vertices of the octahedra.
The width of the channels can vary depending on whether the sides are composed of 2, 3 and/or 4 octahedra, which, in turn, depends on the mode of preparation. This type of material is known by its acronym OMS (octahedral molecular sieve). In some disclosed embodiments, the materials are selected so that they have a structure that generates channels either with a square cross section composed of, for example, one octahedra by one octahedra (OMS 1×1), two octahedra by two octahedra (OMS 2×2) or three octahedra by three octahedra (OMS 3×3), or with a rectangular cross section composed of, for example, two octahedra by three octahedra (OMS 2×3). Thus, certain of the materials will have a pyrolusite (OMS 1×1), hollandite (OMS 2×2), romanechite (OMS 2×3) or todorokite (OMS 3×3) type structure. Other OMS structures, such as 1×3, 1×4, 2×4, 3×4 and 4×4, are also contemplated, though the 2×2 structure has been found to be particularly effective in certain applications.
The disclosed OMS materials are preferably manganese based (Mn—OMS), which means that, if more than one metal cation (M) is present, a major portion of the metal cations (M) is manganese (Mn). A metal cation (M) is in the majority when it satisfies the following formula: (nmaj/ΣnM)>(1/N), where (nM) is the number of atoms of each metal cation (M) within the framework, (N) is the number of different metal cations (M) within the framework, and (nmaj) is the number of atoms of the metal cation (M) with the greatest number of atoms of any of the metal cations (M) within the framework. Most preferably, over about 50% of the metal cations (M) are manganese for example at least about 75% or at least about 90% of the metal cations (M) by mole. Preferably the manganese has an oxidation number between +2 and +4. The balance of metal cations (M) can include one or more elements from groups IIIB to IIIA in the periodic table such as Zn2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Fe2+, Al3+, Ga3+, Fe3+, Ti3+, In3+, Cr3+, Si4+, Ge4+, Ti4+, Sn4+, Sb5+ and combinations thereof.
The disclosed materials can have a characteristic structure with a high surface area and may be capable of oxidizing SO2 to SO3 and/or converting SO3 to a sulfate. In certain embodiments, another cation, such as H+, NH4+, Li+, Na+, Ag+, K+, Rb+, Tl+, Cs+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+, Ra2+, Cu2+, Pb2+, locates in the channels in the OMS structures.
In embodiments having a sorbing phase of materials with type OMS 2×2, OMS 2×3 and/or OMS 3×3, the materials may have a three-dimensional structure that generates channels in at least one direction in space, is composed of octahedra (MO6), and comprises:

    
    
        at least one metal cation (M) selected from the group formed by elements from groups IIIB, IVB, VB, VIB, VIIB, VIII, IB, IIB, IIIA of the periodic table and germanium, each metal cation (M) being coordinated with 6 oxygen atoms, and being located at the center of the resulting oxygen octahedra, wherein a major portion of metal cation or cations (M) is manganese; and
        at least one element (B) selected from the group formed by the alkali elements IA (such as K+), the alkaline-earth elements IIA, the rare earths IIIB, transition metals (such as Ag+) and elements from groups IIIA and IVA, element or elements (B) generally being located in channels in the oxide structure.
    
    


More particularly, metal cation or cations (M) can be selected from scandium, titanium, zirconium, vanadium, niobium, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, aluminum, gallium, and mixtures thereof.
The average charge (oxidation number) carried by the cation or cations (M) from groups IIIB to IIIA is preferably about +3.5 to +4. Preferably, at least about 50% of the metal cation or cations (M) in the material is manganese, titanium, chromium, aluminum, zinc, copper, zirconium, iron, cobalt, and/or nickel. More preferably, over 50% of the metal cation or cations (M) is manganese, chromium, copper, iron, titanium, and/or zirconium. In one form, manganese composes at least about 50% of the metal cation or cations (M) by mole, for example, at least 75% or 90% of the metal cation or cations (M).
Other metal cation or cations (M) from groups IIIB to IIIA, including the transition metals, can be added in minor quantities as dopants. Preferably, the element or elements from groups IIIB to IIIA added in minor quantities is/are selected from scandium, titanium, zirconium, vanadium, niobium, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, aluminum, gallium, and mixtures thereof.
Element or elements (B) may belong to the group formed by the alkali elements IA, alkaline-earth elements IIA, rare earth elements IIIB, transition metals (such as elements from group IB, e.g. silver) and elements from groups IIIA and IVA. They can be located in the channels of the material. Preferably, element or elements (B) is/are selected from potassium, silver, sodium, magnesium, barium, strontium, iron, copper, zinc, aluminum, rubidium, calcium and mixtures thereof.
In a preferred embodiment, the material is of the formula XaMn8O16 wherein X is an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, or a transition metal, and a is between 0.5 and 2.0. In still further preferred forms the material is cryptomelane, silver hollandite, or a combination thereof.
A number of different methods exist for preparing these materials (see references 3 and 4 below, for example). They may be synthesized by mixing and grinding solid inorganic precursors of metal oxides (metals M and B), followed by calcining. The materials can also be obtained by heating solutions of precursor salts to reflux, drying and calcining, by precipitating precursor salts by the sol-gel method, or by hydrothermal synthesis, which consists of heating an aqueous solution containing the elements constituting the final material under autogenous pressure. The materials obtained from these syntheses can be modified by ion exchange or isomorphous substitution.
For example, it has been found that highly crystallized silver hollandite can be obtained by the ion exchange of cryptomelane in a silver salt melt. Preferably, this silver salt melt is substantially pure, i.e. at least about 95% the liquefied silver salt. The ion exchange typically is carried out at a temperature above the melting temperature of the silver salt but below the decomposition temperature of either the cryptomelane or the silver salt. A typical temperature range for the ion exchange will be between 200° C. and 800° C. At atmospheric pressure, a typical duration will be at least about 1 hour. Suitable silver salts include the nitrates, sulfate, chlorates, bromides, chlorides, fluorides, and iodides of silver and organic acid silver salts. After ion exchange, the excess salt is removed by washing with a suitable solvent to produce substantially pure silver hollandite.
Previously, silver hollandite has been formed by the thermal decomposition of AgMnO4 and Ag2O in a 1:1 molar ratio at 970° C. under 5 kbar oxygen over 7 days (see references 11 and 12 below). In contrast, synthesis of silver hollandite via the disclosed ion exchange process is much simpler and facilitates the production of large amounts for industrial applications. In certain embodiments, the silver hollandite can be of high purity with small crystal size and high surface area. Other metals may optionally be introduced into the OMS structure using any of the methods known to the skilled person, such as excess impregnation, dry impregnation, ion exchange, etc.
The disclosed material can have a specific surface area in the range 1 to 300 m2/g, preferably in the range 2 to 300 m2/g, and more preferably in the range 30 to 250 m2/g. The sorption kinetics typically are improved when the specific surface area is high, e.g., greater than 10 m2/g, such as in the range 30 to 250 m2/g.
The sorbent phase can be in the form of a powder, beads, pellets or extrudates and can be deposited or directly prepared on monolithic supports of ceramic or metal. To increase the dispersion of the materials and thus to increase their sorption capacity, the materials can be deposited on porous supports with a high specific surface area before being formed (extrusion, coating . . . ). These supports can be generally selected from the group formed by the following compounds: alumina (alpha, beta, delta, gamma, khi, or theta alumina), silicas (SiO2), silica-aluminas, zeolites, titanium oxide (TiO2), zirconium oxide (ZrO2), magnesium oxide (MgO), divided carbides, for example silicon carbides (SiC), used alone or as a mixture. Mixed oxides or solid solutions comprising at least two of the above oxides can be added.
For many uses, such as in connection with a vehicle exhaust, it is usually preferable to use rigid supports (monoliths) with a large open porosity (e.g., more than 70%) to limit pressure drops that may cause high gas flow rates, and in particular high exhaust gas space velocities. These pressure drops can be deleterious to proper functioning of engines and can contribute to reducing the efficiency of an internal combustion engine (gasoline or diesel). Further, the exhaust system may be subjected to vibrations and to substantial mechanical and thermal shocks, so catalysts in the form of beads, pellets or extrudates run the risk of deterioration due to wear or fracturing.
At least two techniques can be used to prepare the disclosed catalysts on monolithic ceramic or metal supports (or substrates). The first technique comprises direct deposition on the monolithic support, such as using a wash coating to coat the sorbing phase. A wash coating can be prepared, for example, using the operating procedure described in reference 4 below. The sorbent phase can be coated just after the co-precipitation step, hydrothermal synthesis step or heating under reflux step, the final calcining step being carried out on the phase deposited on the monolith. Alternatively, the monolith can be coated after the material has been prepared in its final state, i.e., after the final calcining step.
The second technique comprises depositing the inorganic oxide on the monolithic support and then calcining the monolith between 500° C. and 1100° C. so that the specific surface area of the oxide is in the range of 20 to 150 m2/g. The monolithic substrate covered with the inorganic oxide then can be covered with the sorbent phase prepared, for example, according to the steps described in the reference 4 below.
Monolithic supports that can be used include, but are not limited to: ceramics (such as alumina, zirconia, cordierite, mullite, silica, and alumino-silicates), silicon carbide, silicon nitride, aluminium titanate, metals (such as iron, chromium or aluminium alloys optionally doped with nickel, cobalt, cerium or yttrium) or combinations thereof. The structure of a ceramic supports can be, for example, that of a honeycomb, foam or fibers. Metal supports can be produced by winding corrugated strips or by stacking corrugated sheets to constitute a honeycomb structure with straight or zigzag channels, which may or may not communicate with each other. They can also be produced from metal fibers or wires which are interlocked, woven or braided.
In embodiments in which the supports are made of metal comprising aluminum, it is recommended that the supports be pre-treated at high temperature (for example between 700° C. and 1100° C.) to develop a micro-layer of refractory alumina on the surface. This superficial micro-layer, with a porosity and specific surface area which is higher than that of the original metal, encourages adhesion of the active phase and protects the remainder of the support against corrosion.
The quantity of sorbent phase deposited or prepared directly on a ceramic or metallic support (or substrate) is generally in the range 20 to 300 g per liter of the support, advantageously in the range 50 to 200 g per liter.
Some of the disclosed sorbents can sorb oxides of sulfur present in the gases, in particular exhaust gases. These materials typically are capable of sorbing SOx at a temperature which is generally in the range 50° C. to 650° C., preferably in the range 100° C. to 600° C., more preferably in the range 150° C. to 550° C. For diesel engines in automobiles, an intended application, the temperature of the exhaust gas may be in the range 150° C. to 500° C. and rarely exceeds 600° C.
The disclosed sorbents may be suitable for sorbing oxides of sulfur present in the exhaust gases of stationary engines or, particularly, automotive diesel engines or spark ignition (lean burn) engines, but also in the gases from gas turbines operating with gas or liquid fuels. These exhaust gases typically contain oxides of sulfur in the range of a few tens to a few thousands of parts per million (ppm) and can contain comparable amounts of reducing compounds (e.g., CO, H2, and hydrocarbons) and nitrogen oxides. These exhaust gases might also contain larger quantities of oxygen (e.g., 1% to close to 20% by volume) and steam, though the disclosed sorbents can be effective in oxygen free environments as well. The disclosed sorbents can be used with HSVs (hourly space velocities), which correspond to the ratio of the volume of the monolith to the gas flow rate, for the exhaust gas generally in the range 500 to 150,000 hr−1, for example in the range 5,000 to 100,000 hr−1.
In has been found that sorption of SOx can lead to a noticeable color change in the sorbent. Accordingly, in one variation, a SOx trap is provided by a quantity of the sorbent contained in a housing having a window. The color of the sorbent material can be periodically monitored through the window with the need to replace or recharge the trap indicated by the color change. In this or other refinements, a spent SOx trap can be regenerated by appropriate reflux synthesis so as to reuse the sorbent support and the housing.
The disclosed sorbents can be used anywhere SOx needs to be sorbed. It has been found that significant advantages can be realized in the overall control of emissions from a combustion exhaust by locating the SOx sorbent upstream from a particulate filter or NOx trap.
In an exemplary implementation, the disclosed SOx sorbent material is used in connection with “regenerable” NOx traps without the need to bypass or otherwise protect the SOx sorbent during regeneration of the NOx trap. As discussed more fully in reference 10 below, regenerable NOx traps are constructed to capture NOx (for example as nitrate) during normal operation (lean conditions) and then to release the nitrogen (for example as N2) during a brief fuel-rich reduction step (rich conditions). The rich conditions typically last less than about 1 minute, and the lean conditions are typically at least about 5 times the duration of the rich conditions. When the NOx trap and a SOx sorbent are arranged in series, the SOx sorbent also is subject to this lean/rich cycling, unless measures are employed to limit the fuel rich reduction conditions to the NOx trap. These measures, such as a bypass, can be difficult to implement. Advantageously, no such measures are needed with some embodiments of the disclosed sorbents. For example, in certain embodiments, the sorbents are able to survive lean/rich cycling and still retain substantial sorbent capacity.
In some disclosed embodiments, SOx sorption is provided by a manganese oxide material which has inherent oxidizing capability, so that SO2 can be oxidized and sorbed without use of a separate and costly oxidation catalyst. The manganese oxide material also may have a high total sorption capacity, such as greater than about 40% by weight, thereby providing economical and efficient emissions control.
As discussed above, silver hollandite can be useful as a SOx (e.g., SO2) sorbent. Silver hollandite also can be useful as an oxidation catalyst, such as for the catalysis of oxidation of COx (e.g., CO), NOx (e.g., NO), hydrocarbons (e.g., C3H6) and certain sulfur-containing compounds, such as compounds having at least one thiol group, compounds having at least one sulfide bond, compounds having at least one disulfide bond, and H2S. Silver hollandite performs particularly well as an oxidation catalyst and/or sorbent at low temperatures, such as temperatures between about 50° C. and about 350° C., especially temperatures between about 100° C. and about 200° C. In some implementations, silver hollandite acts as both an oxidation catalyst and as a sorbent. For example, silver hollandite can be used to sorb at least a portion of at least one product of an oxidation process it catalyzes. Such products can include, for example, SO2, which can be sorbed as sulfate.
Silver hollandite's properties make it particularly well suited for use in removing sulfur-containing compounds from a gas or liquid. For example, silver hollandite can be used to remove at least a portion of a sulfur-containing compound, such as an organic sulfur-containing compound, from natural gas or from a liquid hydrocarbon (e.g., gasoline, diesel or jet fuel). Removing a sulfur-containing compound from a liquid hydrocarbon may include rinsing the liquid hydrocarbon with a polar liquid after exposing the liquid hydrocarbon to silver hollandite. For removing sulfur-containing compounds from natural gas, the temperature of the natural gas can be, for example, between about ambient temperature (e.g., about 23° C.) and about 250° C. For removing sulfur-containing compounds from a liquid hydrocarbon, the temperature of the liquid hydrocarbon can be, for example, between about ambient temperature and about 100° C.
Silver hollandite also can be used to remove at least a portion of a nitrogen oxide, such as NO2, from a gas or liquid. For example, silver hollandite can be used to catalyze the reduction of NO2 to form N2 and O2. Such a process can be performed, for example, at a temperature between about 150° C. and about 350° C.
One or more of the disclosed sorbents, such as cryptomelane and silver hollandite, can be combined in the same SOx trap and/or can be placed in a series configuration in the emissions stream. For example, a SOx trap comprising silver hollandite can be placed upstream of a SOx trap comprising cryptomelane.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 is a graph showing exemplary plots of the sorption of SO2 on 2×2 Mn—OMS materials and on MnO2.
FIGS. 2a and 2b are exemplary scanning electron microscopy images of a 2×2 Mn—OMS material before and after SO2 sorption, respectively.
FIGS. 3a and 3b are exemplary x-ray diffraction patterns of a 2×2 Mn—OMS material before and after SO2 sorption, respectively.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing exemplary plots of the sorption of SO2 on a Mn—OMS material at different gas feed temperatures.
FIG. 5 is a graph showing exemplary plots of the sorption of SO2 on a Mn—OMS material at different gas feed rates.
FIG. 6 is a graph showing exemplary plots of the sorption of SO2 on a Mn—OMS material at different concentrations of SO2 in the feed gas.
FIG. 7 is a graph showing exemplary plots of the sorption of SO2 on a Mn—OMS material at different feed gas compositions.
FIG. 8 is a graph showing exemplary plots of the sorption of SO2 on 2×3 Mn—OMS materials at different gas feed rates.
FIG. 9 is a graph showing exemplary plots of the sorption of SO2 on a 2×4 Mn—OMS material.
FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of one embodiment of an emissions control system implemented on a vehicle producing combustion exhaust.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a SOx filter having a monitoring window and regeneration ports.
FIG. 12 is an exemplary x-ray diffraction pattern of Ag-hollandite from synthesis method A.
FIG. 13 is an exemplary TEM image of Ag-hollandite from synthesis method A.
FIG. 14 is an exemplary selected area electron diffraction pattern of Ag-hollandite from synthesis method A.
FIG. 15 is an exemplary x-ray diffraction pattern of Ag-hollandite from synthesis method B.
FIG. 16 is a first exemplary TEM image of Ag-hollandite from synthesis method B.
FIG. 17 is a second exemplary TEM image of Ag-hollandite from synthesis method B.
FIG. 18 is an EDS of spot A in FIG. 17.
FIG. 19 is an EDS of spot B in FIG. 17.
FIG. 20 is a graph showing exemplary plots of the CO oxidation properties of Ag-hollandite from synthesis method B and cryptomelane over a range of temperatures.
FIG. 21 is a graph showing exemplary plots of the C3H6 oxidation properties of Ag-hollandite from synthesis method B and cryptomelane over a range of temperatures.
FIG. 22 is a graph showing exemplary plots of the NO oxidation properties of Ag-hollandite from synthesis method B and cryptomelane over a range of temperature.
FIG. 23 is a graph showing exemplary plots of the de-NOx properties of Ag-hollandite from synthesis method B and cryptomelane over a range of temperatures.
FIGS. 24A-B are gas chromatograph traces of sulfur species present in a liquid hydrocarbon before (FIG. 24A) and after (FIG. 24B) a sorption process using a Cu(I)Y zeolite.
FIGS. 25A-C are gas chromatograph traces of sulfur species present in a liquid hydrocarbon showing how treatment with certain embodiments of cryptomelane affects the concentration of sulfur compounds in this liquid hydrocarbon.
FIG. 26 is a plot illustrating the use of certain embodiments of cryptomelane to sorb H2S from nitrogen gas.
FIG. 27 is a XRD plot showing that MnS is produced by desulfurization of natural gas using an embodiment of the disclosed process using cryptomelane.



DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is hereby intended. Alterations and further modifications in the illustrated devices, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
The prefix “sorb” includes adsorption and/or absorption, unless the context indicates otherwise. The separations described herein can be partial, substantial or complete separations unless the context indicates otherwise.
In some disclosed embodiments, a manganese-based octahedral molecular sieve serves as a high-capacity sulfur oxide solid sorbent. As compared to other sorbents studied for the removal of SO2 from waste gases, this material provides surprising high capacity and efficiency. In a preferred form, this material is referred to as Mn—OMS 2×2.
The basic structure of the materials employed in some of the Examples that follow includes MnO6 octahedra joined at the edges to form a 2×2 hollandite tunnel structure with a pore size of about 0.46 nm. For cryptomelane, a counter-cation, K+, is present within the tunne 1 structure for charge compensation. Mn can assume an oxidation state of 4+, 3+, or 2+, and the average Mn oxidation state can be controlled within a certain range during synthesis. Generally, this material has a high surface area (e.g., about 80 m2/g) and a high redox reaction activity.
Without intending to be bound by any theory of operation, the following reaction may be involved in SO2 sorption using cryptomelane:

SO2+KxMn8O16→MnSO4+K2O  (1)

The SO2 may be oxidized to SO3 by Mn4+ and Mn3+. The Mn4+ and Mn3+ may be simultaneously reduced to Mn2+ (MnO). The SO3 produced then may react with the Mn2+ to form MnSO4.

As explained herein, tunnel structure cryptomelane was found to be a high-capacity sulfur dioxide sorbent. Its SO2 capacity from 250° C. to 475° C. was found to be more than ten times higher than that of conventional SO2 sorbents. Its maximum SO2 capacity can be as high as about 74 wt %. The dominant mechanism for SO2 sorption is believed to be oxidation of SO2 by Mn4+ and Mn3+ to form SO3, followed by reaction of the SO3 with the co-produced Mn2+ to form MnSO4. It has been found that this reaction is primarily controlled by the mass diffusion of SO2 through the sorbent, and that it can surprisingly effectively occur in an oxygen-free environment. In addition, the visibly significant color change of cryptomelane from black to yellow after SO2 sorption can be used as a convenient indicator for the sorbent replacement.
Cryptomelane for SO2 sorption can be synthesized, for example, either from a mixture of KMnO4 and MnSO4 or a mixture of MnSO4 and KOH solution. After SO2 sorption, MnSO4 is formed, which can subsequently be dissolved in water and used as raw material for a subsequent cryptomelane synthesis. To regenerate the SO2 sorption trap, therefore, only KOH and O2 may be needed because the sorbent support (such as a monolith) and the MnSO4 can be re-used.
The disclosed highly-efficient SO2 sorbents can be used for removal of SO2 generated from thermal power plants, factories, and on-road vehicles. They can be especially effective for removal of SOx that is present in the emissions of diesel trucks, in order to protect downstream emissions control devices such as particulate filters and NOx traps that are poisoned by SOx.
Silver hollandite, in particular, has utility as a low-temperature oxidation catalyst. For example, silver hollandite can be used as a catalyst for oxidation of COx (e.g., CO), NOx (e.g., NO), hydrocarbons (e.g., hydrocarbons having between one and four carbon atoms, such as C3H6) and sulfur-containing compounds, such as compounds having at least one thiol group, compounds having at least one sulfide bond, compounds having at least one disulfide bond, and H2S. In general, silver hollandite performs well when oxidation can be accomplished in the gas phase with a continuous flow of oxygen to reactivate the material. Oxidation of sulfur-containing compounds may produce sulfur oxide products, such as SO2, which then can be sorbed by the silver hollandite. Since silver hollandite can act as both an oxidation catalyst and as a sorbent, it can serve as a complete solution for the removal of sulfur-containing compounds.
Silver hollandite also may be useful for catalyzing the reaction of other compounds to convert such compounds into forms that can be sorbed by the silver hollandite. For example, silver hollandite may catalyze the oxidation of phosphites, phosphonates and other reduced phosphorus compounds. The products of the catalyzed oxidation reactions may include phosphates that would likely be sorbed by the silver hollandite. Similarly, silver hollandite may be used to catalyze the oxidation of certain metals and metal-containing compounds into metal oxides that can be sorbed. For example, silver hollandite may be used to catalyze the oxidation of mercury or alkyl mercury compounds into mercuric oxide or to catalyze the oxidation of AsH3 into As2O3. Toxic metal-containing compounds, such as alkyl mercury compounds and AsH3 might be present, for example, in emissions from coal gasification plants.
In some embodiments, a substantial portion of a sulfur-containing compound, such as a sulfur oxide product, is sorbed by silver hollandite. A substantial portion can be, for example, between about 10% and about 100% of the sulfur-containing compound, such as between about 50% and about 100% or between about 70% and about 100%. These percentages and other percentages recited herein in connection with the term “substantial portion” are weight percentages for a compound within a defined quantity of a gas or liquid undergoing treatment. The defined quantity of gas or liquid undergoing treatment typically is substantially isolated from the surrounding atmosphere. For example, the defined quantity can be a batch of gas or liquid undergoing treatment or a stream of gas or liquid flowing past a device containing silver hollandite for a set amount of time.
Oxidation using silver hollandite as a catalyst can be performed continuously or as a batch process. The process typically results in oxidation of a substantial portion of at least one oxidizable compound in the gas or liquid being treated, such as between about 10% and about 100% of the oxidizable compound, between about 50% and about 100%, or between about 70% and about 100%. In some applications, the gas or liquid to be treated is exposed to silver hollandite at a temperature between the minimum temperature required to provide sufficient kinetic energy for the reaction and a temperature at which the silver hollandite degrades. In some embodiments, the gas or liquid is treated at a temperature between about 50° C. and about 350° C., such as between about 100° C. and about 200° C.
Due to its utility as a catalyst, silver hollandite may be used in place of more expensive catalysts, such as platinum-based catalysts, in many applications. For example, silver hollandite can be used in place of platinum-based catalysts used for NOx, COx, hydrocarbon, and carbon soot oxidation (e.g., for emissions control) and formaldehyde oxidation (e.g., for in-door pollution abatement).
In some disclosed embodiments, silver hollandite is used as a de-NOx catalyst. For example, silver hollandite can be exposed to a gas or liquid containing NO2 and catalyze the reduction of the NO2 to form N2 and O2 using a reductant, such as CO or a hydrocarbon. This can be done, for example, at a temperature between about 50° C. and about 400° C., such as between about 150° C. and about 350° C. The process can result in reduction of a substantial portion of a NOx compound in the gas or liquid, such as between about 10% and about 100% of a NOx compound, between about 50% and about 100% or between about 70% and about 100%.
Many of the materials disclosed as sorbents and/or catalysts, including cryptomelane and silver hollandite, can be used as oxidation catalysts and/or as sorbents in desulfurization applications, such as the desulfurization of natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons. For example, cryptomelane and silver hollandite can be used to remove organic sulfur-containing compounds from liquid hydrocarbons. Examples of liquid hydrocarbons include gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
Desulfurization of natural gas has particularly broad utility. Sulfur-containing compounds naturally occur as contaminants in natural gas and often are added to give natural gas a distinctive smell. For many applications, such as analytical applications and fuel cell applications, substantially all sulfur-containing compounds must be removed before natural gas is burned. To accomplish this, natural gas can be exposed to silver hollandite or cryptomelane before use. This can be done, for example at a temperature between about 0° C. and about 350° C., such as between about ambient temperature and about 250° C.
Desulfurization of a gas or liquid using silver hollandite or cryptomelane can be performed continuously or as a batch process. The process typically results in removal of a substantial portion of at least one sulfur-containing compound in the gas or liquid being treated, such as between about 10% and about 100% of the compound to be removed, between about 50% and about 100%, or between about 70% and about 100%. In some applications, the gas or liquid to be treated is exposed to silver hollandite or cryptomelane at a temperature between about 0° C. and about 350° C., such as between about ambient temperature (e.g., about 23° C.) and about 100° C.
Removing a sulfur-containing compound from a liquid hydrocarbon may include rinsing the liquid hydrocarbon with a polar liquid after exposing the liquid hydrocarbon to silver hollandite. This may be useful to remove oxidation products, such as sulfones, that are somewhat polar. Suitable solvents include, for example, solvents with dielectric constants greater than 10, such as water, ethanol, isopropanol, formic acid, acetone, and acetonitrile.
The disclosed molecular sieve materials, such as silver hollandite, also may have utility for removing compounds that cause odors, such as volatile organic compounds released by consumer products, including carpet, paint, etc. Formaldehyde is one such compound. Some of the disclosed materials may be used to catalyze the oxidation of formaldehyde into H2O and CO2. In comparison to many conventional catalytic materials for removing odors, such as titania-based materials, the disclosed molecular sieve materials typically do not need to be activated by light energy. In some embodiments, however, the disclosed materials are heated to improve their catalytic activity.
In sorption and/or catalysis applications, the disclosed materials may be present in an amount and form that allow sorption and/or catalysis to occur. In catalysis applications, the amount can be, for example, an amount that provides a substantially greater number of catalysis sites at any one time than the amount of potentially oxidizable compound in the feed. For example, in sulfur catalysis and/or sorption applications, the amount of catalyst and/or sorbent can be greater than about 0.1 grams per gram of sulfur in the gas or liquid being treated, such as between about 0.1 and about 100 grams catalyst and/or sorbent per gram of sulfur or between about 0.5 and about 10 grams catalyst and/or sorbent per gram of sulfur. The form can be a form that maximizes surface area, such as a powder form. As discussed above, the disclosed catalytic materials also can be affixed to supports, such as monoliths.
Turning now to FIG. 10, a vehicle 20 implementing a simplified embodiment of the disclosed emissions control system is depicted. Vehicle 20 has an engine 22 fluidly connected to upstream and downstream emissions control devices 24 and 26, respectively. Devices 24 and 26 perform different emissions control functions, and while they could be combined into a single device, as described more fully below, certain problems are avoided by the provision of separate devices.
The exhaust 21 from the engine 22 is first fed to the upstream device 24. The transfer of the exhaust 21, and all other fluid transfer operations, can be in any conventional fashion, such as the exhaust piping of a conventional automobile, and may include intermediate fluid processing operations, such as catalytic conversion, mixing with other gases, or recycling of exhaust to the engine.
The upstream device 24 is a SOx scrubber functioning to remove any sulfur oxides from the exhaust gas 21 and to prevent their passage via channel 25 to the downstream device 26 and eventually to the atmosphere via the exhaust 28. The SOx scrubber functions to remove most if not all of any sulfur oxides in the gaseous exhaust 21. The SOx scrubber can contain a solid SOx sorbent, as described herein, preferably one supported on a monolith or similar support. The sorbent can function to remove the SOx from the passing gas stream, such as by permanent or reversible sorption, trapping, filtering, or chemical reaction therewith, and thereby can be used to prevent SOx from entering the downstream device 26.
The downstream device 26 provides a different emissions control function than the upstream device 24. As illustrated, the downstream device is a NOx scrubber or particulate filter, although any conventional scrubber or filter can be employed. As many conventional NOx traps and/or particulate filters are fouled or poisoned by the presence of SOx, the provision of upstream device 24 inventively reduces or eliminates this possibility by providing an inlet stream to device 26 that is substantially SOx free. For example, it is contemplated that device 24 will function to cause fluid at channel 25 to have less than 1% of the SOx concentration in the exhaust 21, more preferably less than about 0.1%.
Turning now to FIG. 11, an exemplary SOx scrubber 30, which can be employed as device 24 in the FIG. 10 system, is depicted. Scrubber 30 includes a housing 32 having a fluid inlet 34, a fluid outlet 36 and a fluid flow path therebetween. The housing 32 contains a SOx sorbent in the flow path so as to facilitate the removal of SOx from the fluid as it passes through the SOx scrubber.
Housing 32 also contains a window 38 providing visual access to the sorbent contained therein. As the sorbent contained in the housing 32 sorbs the SOx, it will undergo a noticeable color change, with the sorbent nearer the inlet 34 becoming saturated (and thus changing color) sooner than the sorbent near the outlet 36. The resulting transition between different colored portions of the sorbent provides an indication on the extent that the sorbent packing has become spent. Accordingly, a series of indicator marks 39 are provided on the window 38 or on the housing 32 adjacent the window 38 for measuring the remaining sorption capacity of the scrubber 30. For example, during routine maintenance of a machine on which scrubber 30 is implemented, such as vehicle 20, the window 38 can be checked to determine whether replacement of the scrubber 30 is necessary.
When replacement is needed, i.e. when the sorbent is saturated and entirely changed in color, the scrubber 30 can simply be removed from the exhaust stream and replaced. In another embodiment, once removed, the spent sorbent and/or the scrubber 30 can be reused. For example when the spent sorbent is converted to MnSO4, this MnSO4 can be used as a starting material to reform the Mn—OMS material on the support. This reforming can be accomplished, for example, by removing the spent sorbent and its support (such as a monolith) from the housing 32. After processing and appropriate calcinations, the spent sorbent is returned to its OMS structure and is ready to sorb additional SOx.
Alternatively, the necessary reagents for reforming the spent sorbent, for example KOH and O2, can be circulated through the housing 32 without removing the spent sorbent. The inlet and outlet ports 34 and 36 can be used as the reagent inlet and outlet ports to recharge the sorbent in this fashion when the scrubber 30 is removed from the exhaust stream. However, as illustrated, scrubber 30 can include optional dedicated inlet and outlet ports 44 and 42 for this purpose. Ports 42, 44 permit recharging without removal from the exhaust stream, or they may be used in conjunction with offline recharging via inlet and outlet 34, 36.
Reference will now be made to examples illustrating specific features of inventive embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that these examples are provided for illustration and that no limitation to the scope of the invention is intended thereby. Further, certain observations, hypotheses, and theories of operation are presented in light of these examples in order to further understanding, but these are likewise not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
EXAMPLES
The following examples are provided to illustrate certain particular embodiments of the disclosure. Additional embodiments not limited to the particular features described are consistent with the following examples.
Example 1
Sample Preparations and Test Conditions OMS 2×2
2×2 manganese based octahedral molecular sieve (tunnel structure cryptomelane) was prepared using the methods described in reference 3 below. A typical synthesis was carried out as follows: 11.78 g KMnO4 in 200 ml of water was added to a solution of 23.2 g MnSO4.4H2O in 60 ml of water and 6 ml of concentrated HNO3. The solution was refluxed at 100° C. for 24 hours, and the product was washed and dried at 120° C. Hydrothermal reaction in Teflon bottles at 90° C., instead of the reflux method, was also used for the synthesis. In one example, this approach yielded cryptomelane with a density of 0.66 g/cm3 and a surface are of 74.1 m2/g.
An alternative synthesis method for cryptomelane included purging O2 through a mixture of MnSO4 and KOH solution, followed by calcination at 600° C. A typical preparation was: a solution of 15.7 g KOH in 100 ml of cold water was added to a solution of 14.9 g of MnSO4.H2O in 100 ml of water. Oxygen gas was bubbled (about 10 L/min) through the solution for 4 hours. The product was washed with water and calcined in air for 20 hours. In one example, this approach yielded cryptomelane with a density of 0.99 g/cm3 and a surface are of 32.0 m2/g.
The dried materials were sieved to provide 40-80 mesh particles for the SO2 sorption tests, which was carried out in a temperature controlled reactor with a Sulfur Chemiluminescent Detector (SCD) analysis system. Unless otherwise stated, the sorption testing conditions were 0.5 gram 40-80 mesh sorbent particles, 100 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm) exhaust air flow with 250 parts per million (ppm) SO2, 75% N2, 12% O2, and 13% CO2.
The SO2 sorption performance of cryptomelane material synthesized by refluxing mixture of KMnO4 and MnSO4 solutions was also systemically tested under different temperature, gas hour space velocity (GHSV), SO2 concentrations, and feed gas compositions. The results are summarized in Table 1.
Before each SO2 sorption measurement, the material was heated at 500° C. for 2 hours in flowing air. To characterize the property changes before and after SO2 sorption, powder X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), particle surface area (SA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images were collected on some of the tested materials.







TABLE 1







SO2 Sorption Test Conditions for Cryptomelane Material








Variable conditions
Other conditions





SO2 sorption temperature
0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent,


250° C., 325° C.,
feed gas: 250 ppm SO2, 82%


and 475° C.
N2, 18% O2, ~8,000 hr−1 GHSV


Gas Hour Space Velocity, GHSV, hr−1
0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent for


8,000,
8K and 30K hr−1 GHSV test,


30,000,
and 0.25 g for 60K test,


and 60,000
325° C., feed gas: 250 ppm SO2,



82% N2, 18% O2,


SO2 concentration in feed gas
0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent for


50 ppm
250 ppm SO2 test, and 0.25 g


and 250 ppm
for 50 ppm test



325° C., feed gas: 82% N2, 18%



O2, ~30,000 hr−1 GHSV,


Feed gas composition
For CO—NO—H2O test


Air
0.25 g 40-80 mesh sorbent,


(250 ppm SO2, 82% N2 and 18% O2)
325° C., 17K hr−1 GHSV


CO2 effect
For others


(250 ppm SO2, 75% N2, 12% O2, and 13% CO2)
0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent,


NO effect
325° C., ~8K hr−1 GHSV


(178 ppm SO2, 178 ppm NO, 9% N2, 20% O2,


71% He)


CO effect


(250 ppm SO2, 250 ppm CO, 87% N2, 13% O2)


CO—NO—H2O effect


(125 ppm SO2, 125 ppm CO, 125 ppm NO, 11% H2O*,


19% N2, 20% O2, 50% He)


O2-free effect


(250 ppm SO2, 12.5% N2, and 87.5% He)





*Steam was introduced by purging O2 through a flask containing temperature-controlled de-ionized water. After passing through the sorbent, the steam was removed before analysis with the SCD detector. The steam was removed using a MD Gas Dryer (from Perma Pure Inc.), which can selectively separate H2O from other gases in the mixture.






Example 2
Comparative
Comparative Breakthrough Sorption Capacities
For purposes of comparison, the SO2 sorption capabilities of several commercially available materials were tested at a temperature range from 250° C. to 475° C. under the testing conditions indicated above (0.5 gram 40-80 mesh sorbent particles, 100 sccm exhaust air flow with 250 ppm SO2, 75% N2, 12% O2, and 13% COx). The tested materials included La2O3 or BaO doped ZrO2—CeO2 mixtures (from Daiichi Kigenso Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.), ZrO2 (from RC100, Inc.), A1203 (from Engelhard, acidic), CaO (from Alfa Aesar, Inc.), and MnO2 (from Erachem Comilog, Inc.). These materials were obtained from their respective commercial sources.
Table 2 presents a summary of the SO2 sorption capacities for some of these SO2 sorbents. The SO2 sorption capacity was calculated based on weight of SO2 sorbed per gram of sorbent when 1% of the initial SO2 concentration was observed eluting from the sorbent bed. This is defined as the breakthrough sorption capacity. As seen in Table 2, the SOx breakthrough sorption capacities for these materials are generally less than 5 wt %. Of the other materials tested, the sorption capacities for the MnO2 was selected for more direct comparison to the materials of Example 1 and are presented in the Examples below.







TABLE 2







SO2 Breakthrough Sorption Capacity of Conventional SO2 Sorbents











Materials tested
200° C.
325° C.
400° C.
475° C.





73.8% ZrO2—26.2% CeO2 mixed oxide

2.2 wt %
2.2 wt %
2.2 wt %


SA 53.5 m2/g, 10,000 hr−1 GHSV


73.2% ZrO2, 1.75% La2O3, 5.22% Nd2O3,

2.4 wt %
3.1 wt %
3.6 wt %


and 19.9% CeO2 mixed oxide


SA 60.3 m2/g, 7236 hr−1 GHSV


61.8% ZrO2, 29.4% CeO2, and 8.9%
2.0 wt %
3.5 wt %
5.0 wt %
5.3 wt %


La2O3 mixed oxide


SA 69.1 m2/g, 11,400 hr−1 GHSV


70.3% ZrO2, 4.0% BaO, and 25.8%

1.7 wt %
1.7 wt %
2.5 wt %


CeO2 mixed oxide SA 29.2 m2/g,


~10,000 hr−1 GHSV


ZrO2, SA 95.7 m2/g,



2.2 wt %


10,000 hr−1 GHSV


Al2O3, Engelhard Corp. SA 150 m2/g,

1.0 wt %


Acidic 7,281 hr−1 GHSV


CaO, SA 2.7 m2/g, ~10,000 hr−1 GHSV

<0.2 wt %  
<0.2 wt %  
<0.2 wt %  





1. Other test conditions: 0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent, feed gas: 250 ppm SO2, 75% N2, 12% O2, and 13% CO2


2. SO2 capacity based on gram of SO2 sorbed per gram of catalyst at 1% SO2 breakthrough point






Example 3
Breakthrough Sorption Capacities
Table 3 gives the SO2 breakthrough and total sorption capacities of the materials synthesized according to Example 1, KxMn8O16A (reflux synthesis, with projected final average Mn oxidation state 3.5+), KxMn8O16B (reflux synthesis, with projected final average Mn oxidation state 4+), Cu-doped KxMn8O16B (hydrothermal synthesis, with projected final average Mn oxidation state 4+), and KxMn8O16C (synthesized from MnSO4 and KOH). The projected final Mn oxidation state (PAOS) is calculated based on the relative amount of KMnO4 and MnSO4 in the starting solution, i.e. PAOS=(moles of KMnO4*7+moles of MnSO4*2)/(moles of KMnO4+moles of MnSO4). Breakthrough capacities were measured at 1% breakthrough as described in Example 2, and total SO2 sorption capacity was also measured with the values given in parentheses in Table 3. For example, the breakthrough and maximum SO2 sorption capacities for KxMn8O16B are 58 wt % and 68 wt %, respectively. Under similar reaction conditions, these materials have significantly higher breakthrough SO2 sorption capacity than the conventional SO2 sorbents given in Table 2. To facilitate comparison, the results for the commercially obtained electrolytic MnO2 (EMD, Erachem Comilog, Inc.) discussed above are presented in Table 3.







TABLE 3







SO2 Sorption Capacity of Cryptomelane Materials Synthesized











SO2 breakthrough




capacity


Materials tested
SA, m2/g
(total capacity)













KxMn8O16 A, 14,000 hr−1 GHSV
51
28 (45)b
wt %


Cu-doped KxMn8O16 Ba 9,637 hr−1 GHSV
88
57.5 (67)
wt %


KxMn8O16 B, ~7500 hr−1 GHSV
74
58 (68)
wt %


KxMn8O16 C, ~8000 hr−1 GHSV
32
48 (60)
wt %


EMD MnO2, 12,000 hr−1 GHSV
30
3.5 (9)
wt %





*Other test conditions: 0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent, 325° C., feed gas: 250 ppm SO2, 82% N2, and 18% O2 for KxMn8C16 C, for others: 75% N2, 12% O2, and 13% CO2


aCuSO4 was added in MnSO4 solution


bData in parentheses are maximum SO2 sorption capacities






Example 4
SO2 Sorption at 325° C.
FIG. 1 is a graph showing plots of SO2 sorption on KxMn8O16A, B, Cu-doped KxMn8O16B, and EMD MnO2, as a function of the weight percentage of SO2 fed at 325° C. The left axis is the percentage of SO2 not sorbed (i.e. that passed through the bed) and corresponds to the S-shaped curves. The right axis is the wt % SO2 sorbed and corresponds to the curves whose slope is initially 1 at low feed amounts and then tends towards slope of zero at high feed amounts. All weight percentages are relative weight of sorbent.
Example 5
Changes After Sorption
FIGS. 2 and 3 are before and after scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and x-ray diffraction patterns (XRD), respectively, for the SO2 sorption by KxMn8O16B at 325° C. As shown in FIG. 2, the morphology and the crystal structure of the KxMn8O16 material significantly changes after SO2 sorption.
The surface area of this material also decreased sharply from 74 m2/g to 4.6 m2/g, and the XRD patterns indicate that the OMS structure had converted to a mixture of MnSO4 and manganolangbeinite K2Mn2(SO4)3. A visible color change in the sorbent was also evident. It was initially black and changed to yellow after the SO2 sorption.
Example 6
Temperature Dependence
FIG. 5 is a plot of the wt % of SO2 sorption on KxMn8O16B at 250° C., 325° C. and 475° C. under the other test conditions as indicated in Table 1 (0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent, feed gas: 250 ppm SO2, 82% N2, 18% O2, about 8,000 hr−1 GHSV). Even at as low a temperature as 250° C., this material could sorb more than 66 wt % SO2, although sorption is not 100% and some SO2 breakthrough was observed even initially.
Example 7
Feed Gas Flow Rate Dependence
FIG. 6 shows the feed gas GHSV effect on the SO2 sorption with KxMn8O16B at 325° C. The breakthrough SO2 capacity decreased from 61, to 44, and 33 wt % as the feed GHSV increased from 8K, to 30K and 60K hr−1. As the feed GHSV increased, the total SO2 sorption capacity decreased, but not significantly, from 74 to 64 and 63 wt %.
Example 8
Feed Gas Composition Dependence
FIG. 7 shows that increasing the SO2 concentration in the feed gas from 50 ppm to 250 ppm had almost no effect on the SO2 sorption with KxMn8O16B.
FIG. 8 shows the effect of the feed gas composition on the sorption of SO2 with KxMn8O16B at 325° C. CO and NO, which can be present in combustion waste gases, did not have any effect on the SO2 sorption with KxMn8O16. CO2, at about 13%, slightly deceased the SO2 breakthrough capacity (from 61 wt % to 59 wt %) and the total SO2 capacity (from 74 wt % to 68 wt %).
Surprisingly, the OMS material KxMn8O16B showed a higher SO2 breakthrough capacity of 74 wt % and total SO2 capacity of about 80 wt % in the CO—NO—SO2—H2O mixture feed gas even through the GHSV was 17K hr−1. When steam was introduced into the system, the SCD signals were not very stable, which may have generated some error in the measurements. In the absence of O2, cryptomelane material KxMn8O16B still had a SO2 breakthrough capacity of 41 wt % and a total SO2 capacity of 58 wt %.
After the SO2 sorption test, the weight gain of the sorbent was measured, though it was not possible to collect all the sorbent particles. Table 4 gives the weight gain data of the feed gas composition trials. For comparison, the total SO2 sorption calculated from the SCD concentration change for each test also is listed.







TABLE 4







Sorbent Weight Gain after SO2


Sorption Test in Different Feed Gas Compositions at 325° C.















CO2

NO
O2-free
CO—NO—H2O


Feed Gas
Air
effect
CO effect
effect
effect
effect
















Weight
65.7
65.6
66.2
64
50
66.8


Gain, %


Total SO2
74.6
68.1
74.1
70.7
58
80.6


sorbed, %





*See Table 1 for detailed test conditions






Discussion of Examples 1-8
Based on reaction (1), the maximum SO2 capacity is believed to be controlled by the oxidation state of Mn in the sorbent. For the OMS materials KxMn8O16B and Cu-doped KxMn8O16B, the average projected oxidation state of Mn is 4; there are very few K+ cations present in the structure. If the small amount of K+ is ignored, the maximum SO2 capacity should be about 73.5 wt %. The measured maximum SO2 capacities (see Tables 3 and 4) are about 70 wt % for these two materials, which is very close to 73.5 wt % and reflects the contribution of the K2O byproduct. This result supports the hypothesis that reaction (1) dominates SO2 sorption. Direct evidence is also seen in the XRD patterns before and after the SO2 sorption. After SO2 sorption, the OMS structure completely changed to MnSO4 and manganolangbeinite K2Mn2(SO4)3. The formation of K2Mn2(SO4)3 means more SO42− than Mn2+ is formed and that reaction (1) needs to be modified slightly. A postulate is that the cryptomelane material itself or the SO2 sorbed material (mostly MnSO4) acts as a catalyst for the following reaction and formation of K2Mn2(SO4)3.

SO2+O2→SO3  (2)

Because the amount of K+ is small, the whole SO2 sorption process is mostly dominated by manganese oxidation. It should be noted that, while the presence of O2 in the feed gas does help increase sorption, it is not necessary, as demonstrated by the satisfactory sorption performance in the oxygen-free feed gas test (feed gas composition: 250 ppm SO2, 12.5% N2, and 87.5% He). After SO2 sorption in an O2-free environment, both MnSO4 and K2Mn2(SO4)3 were formed, suggesting that other reactions involving oxygen transfer and formation of some amorphous phases also happened in an O2-free environment.

The synthesized KxMn8O16A had an average projected Mn oxidation state of +3.5. The ideal formula for this material should be K4Mn8O16 (after water removal at 500° C. and assuming all the counter-cations are K+). Then according to reaction (1), the maximum capacity is 45 wt %, which exactly matches the measurement (see Table 3). If reaction (2) also exists with this material, K2Mn2(SO4)3 should form, which was not seen in an XRD pattern (not shown), and the maximum SO2 capacity should be 60 wt %. This suggests that reaction (1) predominates, and that reaction (2) occurs only to a very small extent or not at all. Based on the results from KxMn8O16A (hydrothermal synthesis, with projected final average Mn oxidation state 3.5), KxMn8O16B (reflux synthesis, with projected final average Mn oxidation state 4) and Cu-doped KxMn8O16B (hydrothermal synthesis, with projected final average Mn oxidation state 4), neither the choice between reflux or hydrothermal synthesis, nor doping with Cu significantly changes SO2 break through sorption capacity or maximum sorption capacity. This suggests that there is no kinetic or thermodynamic effect attributable to doping or the synthesis mechanism.
The alternative synthesis method of purging O2 through a mixture of MnSO4 and KOH solution followed by calcination at 600° C. did show some effect. KxMn8O16 synthesized using this method, gives  ̃50 wt % SO2 breakthrough capacity and  ̃60 wt % SO2 total capacity, which are lower than those for KxMn8O16B. Potential reasons for this disparity include 1) possible incomplete oxidation of Mn2+ to Mn4+, 2) the relative low surface area (32 m2/g vs. 75 m2/g) and high density ( ̃1 g/cm3 vs. 0.67 g/cm3), and 3) the product is not pure OMS as a small amount of K2SO4 was found to exists (see FIG. 9 for its XRD pattern). While the synthesis conditions could still be optimized to improve sorption performance, the sorption performance is adequate to be effective and consideration of other factors renders this a desirable approach. For example, this synthesis method can significantly decrease the overall cost of the sorbent production. After SO2 sorption, almost pure MnSO4 is formed, which, being one of the starting materials, can be recaptured and reused. Also the density of KxMn8O16C is about 50% higher than that of KxMn8O16B, which indicates more sorbents can be loaded and a higher SO2 capacity in a given volume can be achieved.
Although electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) from Erachem Comilog, Inc. has Mn4+ and a surface area of about 30 m2/g, the SO2 capacity for this material does not approach that of the OMS materials. This indicates that the OMS structure may be important for high SO2 sorption.
KxMn8O16B was tested at a temperature of 250° C., 325° C., and 475° C. At 250° C., a lower SO2 sorption rate was observed, but the maximum SO2 capacity was almost the same as that measured at 325° C. and 475° C. In comparing the results at 325° C. and 475 CC, a minimal difference was observed, except that at 475° C., after the breakthrough capacity was reached, the SCD detector background slightly increased, indicating that some SO3 was being released even though total sorption amount was still increasing.
Substantial variation in the feed gas flow rate affected the SO2 sorption performance of KxMn8O16B sorbent, although in practice this affect can be mitigated with appropriate sizing and design of the SOx trap. For example, the SO2 breakthrough capacity decreased about 50% when the feed GHSV increased from 8K to 60K hr−1. This indicates the SO2 sorption reaction is mostly controlled by SO2 mass diffusion through the sorbent. Since the SO2 concentration in the feed gas had little or no effect on its sorption suggests that reaction (1) is 0th order for SO2, and it is mostly controlled by the available active sites on the sorbent.
Most components in the simulated exhaust combustion gases tested, CO, NO, CO2, and H2O, did not have a significant effect on the SO2 sorption capacity of the KxMn8O16B sorbent, and the sorption capacity in an oxygen-free environment, while lower, was still acceptable. Therefore, it is expected that the Mn—OMS materials should be useful to remove SO2 from gas streams in a wide variety of applications.
Example 9
Other OMS Structures
SO2 sorption capacities of other manganese oxides with tunnel structures, including Todorokite-type magnesium manganese oxide with channels of 3×3 MnO6 units, sodium manganese oxide with channels of 2×4 MnO6 units, sodium manganese oxide with channels of 2×3 MnO6 units, and pyrolusite manganese oxide with channels of 1×1 MnO6 units, were studied.
Pyrolusite, MnO2 1×1, was obtained from Stream Chemicals. The as-received chemical was ball-milled for 1 hr to get about 1 μm particles before the SO2 sorption test. One todorokite material, OMS-1, was provided by Engelhard Corporation. Other tunnel-structured manganese oxides were prepared in the lab using the methods described in the published literature.
Birnessite was used as a precursor for the synthesis of channel-structured manganese oxides. Birnessite-type layered manganese oxides were prepared using the methods described in references 5 and 6 below. A typical synthesis included mixing 250 ml 6.4M NaOH solution with 200 ml 0.5M MnSO4 at room temperature. Oxygen was immediately bubbled through a glass frit at a rate of 4 L/min. After 4.5 hours the oxygenation was stopped and the precipitate was filtered out and washed with deionized water 4 times, and then dried in air at 100° C. About 13 g of grey-colored birnessite product was obtained.
Two sodium manganese oxides with channels of 2×3 MnO6 units (Na 2×3 A & B) were prepared by directly calcination of birnessite in air for 12 hours at 500° C., and 650° C., respectively as described in reference 7 below.
Todorokite (magnesium manganese oxide with channels of 3×3 MnO6 units) was prepared as described in references 5 and 8 below. About 3 g birnessite was added to 100 ml 1M MgCl2 solution and the mixture was shaken overnight at room temperature to cause Mg2+ ion exchange for Na+. The slurry was washed four times with deionized water. Then, Mg2+-birnessite, together with 25 ml H2O, was autoclaved at 150° C. for 48 hours. After washing with DI water 3 times, the product was dried in air at 100° C. About 2.0 g todorokite-type tunnel structure manganese oxide (Mg 3×3) was obtained.
Sodium manganese oxide with channels of 2×4 MnO6 units was prepared using method described in reference 9 below. About 5 g birnessite, together with 25 ml 2.5M NaCl solution, was autoclaved at 210° C. for 48 hours. After washing with DI water 3 times, the product was dried in air at 100° C. About 4.4 g of black-colored product (Na 2×4) was obtained.
The dried materials were sieved to provide 40-80 mesh particles for the SO2 sorption test, which was carried out in a temperature controlled reactor with an SCD analytical system. All of the materials were tested under the same conditions (0.5 gram 40-80 mesh sorbent particles, 100 sccm feed flow of 250 ppm SO2 in 82% N2, 18% O2) at a temperature of 325° C. Additional details are shown in Table 5. Before each SO2 sorption measurement, the sorbent material was heated at 500° C. for 2 hours in flowing air to remove residual moisture. To characterize the structure change before and after SO2 sorption, powder X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) was collected on some of the tested materials.







TABLE 5







SO2 Sorption Tests of Other OMS Materials








Sorbent
Test Conditions*





MnO2 1 × 1
0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent, 325° C., 100 sccm


pyrolusite from Strem Chemicals,
flow of 250 ppm SO2, 82% N2, 18% O2,


with 1 × 1 tunnels
GHSV = 18K hr−1


Na 2 × 3 A
0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent, 325° C., 100 sccm


Na2Mn5O10 with 2 × 3 tunnels,
flow of 250 ppm SO2, 82% N2, 18% O2,


calcined at 500° C. for 12 h
GHSV = 3.4K hr−1


Na 2 × 3 B
0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent, 325° C., 100 sccm


Na2Mn5O10, with 2 × 3 tunnels,
flow of 250 ppm SO2, 82% N2, 18% O2,


calcined at 650° C. for 12 h
GHSV = 5.1K hr−1


Na 2 × 3 A
0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent, 325° C., 100 sccm


Na2Mn5O10, with 2 × 3 tunnels,
flow of 250 ppm SO2, 82% N2, 18% O2,


calcined at 500° C. for 12 h
GHSV = 11K hr−1


Na 2 × 4
0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent, 325° C., 100 sccm


sodium manganese oxide with 2 × 4
flow of 250 ppm SO2, 82% N2, 18% O2,


tunnels
GHSV = 11K hr−1


OMS-1
0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent, 325° C., 100 sccm


todorokite, with 3 × 3 tunnels,
flow of 250 ppm SO2, 82% N2, 18% O2,


provided by Engelhard Corporation
GHSV = 11K hr−1


Mg 3 × 3
0.5 g 40-80 mesh sorbent, 325° C., 100 sccm


Todorokite, with 3 × 3 tunnels
flow of 250 ppm SO2, 82% N2, 18% O2,


Synthesized
GHSV = 2.7 hr−1





*Before each SO2 sorption measurement, the sorbent material was heated at 500° C. for 2 hours in 100 sccm air.






Example 10
Other OMS Structures Results and Comparison
The measured breakthrough capacities at selected gas flow rates for the materials prepared in Example 9 are given in Table 6 along with exemplary capacities for the 2×2 structure of Example 1.







TABLE 6







SO2 Sorption Capacity of OMS Sorbents











Break




through




capacity,


Material tested
GHSV, hr−1
wt %












MnO2, from Strem Chemicals, 1 × 1
18K
<0.1


tunnels of MnO6 units


Na2Mn5O10, 2 × 3 tunnels of MnO6 units,
3.4K 
57.5


calcined at 500° C. for 12 h (A)


Na2Mn5O10, 2 × 3 tunnels of MnO6 units,
5.1K 
31


calcined at 650° C. for 12 h (B)


Na2Mn5O10, 2 × 3 tunnels of MnO6 units,
11K
12


calcined at 500° C. for 12 h (A)


Sodium Manganese Oxide, 2 × 4 tunnels of
11K
33


MnO6 units


MgMn2O4 from todorokite (3 × 3) provided
11K
1.5


by Engelhard Corporation


MgMn2O4 from the synthesized todorokite
2.7K 
53


(3 × 3)


Cryptomelane, 2 × 2 tunnels of MnO6 units
 8K
62


Cryptomelane, 2 × 2 tunnels of MnO6 units
30K
42









Except for two of the materials, the SO2 breakthrough sorption capacities for these materials were generally much higher than those of conventional SOx sorbents, which typically have SO2 breakthrough sorption capacities less than 5 wt %. This establishes the usefulness of these materials as SOx sorbents.
The 1×1 MnO2 from Strem Chemicals was confirmed by XRD to be well-crystallized pyrolusite, comprising 1×1 MnO6 tunnels. After calcination at 500° C. for 2 hours in air, the structure remained stable. However, the material exhibited poor sorption capacity, with a breakthrough capacity of about 0.1% and a maximum sorption capacity less than 3%.
The synthesized birnessite was calcined in air either at 500° C. for 12 hours (A) or at 650° C. for 12 hours (B). In both cases, sodium manganese oxide (Na2Mn5O10) formed, the basic structure consisting of MnO6 octahedra joined at the edges to form a 2×3 tunnel structure. FIG. 8 shows the SO2 sorption performance of both the A and B formulations of this microporous manganese oxide under different GHSV. Similar to the 2×2 cryptomelane materials, this microporous manganese oxide also was found to have a very high SO2 sorption capacity. At 3444 hr−1 GHSV, the total SO2 sorbed was about 70 wt %. At higher GHSV, the SOx sorption performance decreased, indicating the reaction is controlled by the mass diffusion of SO2 through the sorbent. After SO2 sorption, MnSO4 formed.
The XRD pattern of the sodium manganese oxide synthesized by hydrothermal reaction matched very well with the XRD pattern of the sodium manganese oxide material with 2×4 tunnel structure described in reference 10 below. Likewise after calcination at 500° C. for 12 hours in air, the 2×4 tunnel structure remained unchanged. FIG. 9 gives the SO2 sorption test result at 10755 hr−1 GHSV. This material also was found to have a high SO2 sorption capacity.
While the todorokite magnesium manganese oxide prepared by hydrothermal reaction was not well crystallized, the todorokite structure could still be identified in the XRD. However, after calcination at 500° C. for 2 hours in air, the 3×3 tunnel structure changed mostly to MgMn2O4. This structure change was evident in the MgMn2O4 provided by Engelhard Corporation as well. While the todorokite materials both exhibited relative high sorption capacities, this instability at moderately high temperatures is a relative disadvantage for most applications. While they could be used as sorbents, most conventional implementations require stability above temperatures of 500° C. or sometimes higher.
Introduction to Examples 10 through 13
The stability of cryptomelane was studied under oxidizing conditions, reducing conditions, and certain lean-rich cycling conditions. Cryptomelane was confirmed to be stable during oxidizing conditions and under lean-rich cycling, but its stability under certain reducing conditions was found to be temperature and condition dependent.
The studies described in Examples 10 through 13 were mostly performed using a Netzsch STA 409 TGA/DSC/MS, where TGA is Thermogravimetric Analysis, DSC is Differential Scanning Calorimetry, and MS is Mass Spectroscopy. Different gases, including air, 2% H2 in Ar and 2% C3H6 (propylene) in Ar, were used for TGA-DSC analysis. To get a large amount of samples, cryptomelane materials were also treated in a tube furnace with flowing air, 2% C3H6 in Ar, a simulated rich condition exhaust from a diesel engine, a simulated lean condition exhaust, and a simulated lean-rich cycling exhaust from a diesel engine.
The compositions of the simulated exhausts are displayed in Table 7. Unless otherwise specified, the sorption tests were performed at 325° C., using feed gas of 250 ppm SO2 in air at 8000 hr−1 GHSV. Before each sorption test, the sorbent was pretreated in air at 500° C. for 2 hours.
Additional details of these studies can be found in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/649,656, filed Feb. 3, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference to the extent not inconsistent with the present disclosure.







TABLE 7







Composition of Simulated Diesel


Engine Exhausts Used in Examples 10 through 13

















Carbon










Simulated Exhaust
Soot
CO
CO2
C3H6
H2
H2O
O2
NO
N2





Rich Condition
2 × 10−5 g/L
2000 ppm
10%
1000 ppm
—
10%
0~1%
500 ppm
Balance


Lean Condition
5 × 10−5 g/L
3250 ppm
7.11%  
 360 ppm
—
—
10.2%
230 ppm
Balance

















Lean-Rich
Lean
—
—
10%
—
—
10%
  12%
500 ppm
Balance


Cycling
Cycle



Rich
—
4%
10%
4000 ppm
1.3%
10%
 1.5%
500 ppm
Balance



Cycle









Example 10
Stability of Cryptomelane Under Oxidizing Conditions
The stability of cryptomelane after two different oxidation pretreatments was tested. The first pretreatment was air containing 10% H2O for three hours at 600° C. and 30,000 hr−1 GHSV. The second pretreatment was the simulated lean exhaust gas (composition listed in Table 7) for one hour at 500° C. Subsequent sorption tests on 250 ppm SOx in air at 325° C. and 80,000 hr−1 GHSV confirmed that the cryptomelane retained its high sorption capacity, and XRD analysis of the cryptomelane after exposure to each oxidizing stream confirmed that the cryptomelane maintained its structural configuration.
Example 11
Stability of Cryptomelane Under Reducing Conditions
As a highly active, high valance manganese oxide, cryptomelane was expected to be somewhat unstable under reducing conditions. DSC analysis of cryptomelane exposed to a reducing stream of 2% C3H6 in Ar flowing at 40 ml/min while subjected to a heating rate of 10K/min showed that the cryptomelane was reduced at a temperature as low as 300° C. As the cryptomelane was reduced, it transitioned, at least in part, into Mn3O4 and MnO. When the cryptomelane was reduced at temperatures higher than 550° C., the Mn3O4 was further reduced to MnO. Similar results were obtained when the reducing gas comprised 2% H2 in Ar. The doping of Cu and Cr into cryptomelane was not seen to increase its stability under these reducing conditions.
The MnO from reduced cryptomelane was found to be easily re-oxidized when heated in air, but the properties of the re-oxidized species showed some variation based on the particular reduction-oxidation cycle. For the MnO formed from reduction in 2% C3H6 in He at 550° C., DSC analysis in 40 ml/min flowing air with a heating rate of 10K/min showed that the MnO was re-oxidized at a temperature as low as 250° C. After oxidation for one hour at 500° C., XRD analysis revealed that most of the cryptomelane crystal structure was recovered.
However, the BET surface area of the cryptomelane decreased from 74 m2/g to 4.9 m2/g, and SEM images demonstrated that the needle-like crystals no longer exited. Subsequent SO2 sorption tests at 325° C. of 250 ppm SO2 in air at 80,000 hr−1 GHSV revealed a loss of sorption capacity due to the reduction-oxidation cycle. Post sorption test XRD patterns showed that a large portion of the cryptomelane that had been subjected to this reduction-oxidation cycle remained unused after the SO2 sorption.
As discussed above, at least a portion of the reduced cryptomelane is able to recover its original crystalline structure after it is subjected to re-oxidation. Additional tests were performed to determine phase compositions that were formed after re-oxidation occurred. These tests were performed using the following reducing gases: 2% H2 in He and simulated rich exhaust gas (see Table 7). Table 8 summarizes the phases found after re-oxidation was performed. For all these tests, the most abundant phase formed after re-oxidation was either Mn3O4 or Mn2O3, not cryptomelane.







TABLE 8







Phases Formed After Reduction-Oxidation Tests of Cryptomelane












Phases after 500° C.
Phases after 600° C.


Reduction condition
Phases after reduction*
1 hr in air
1 hr in air





2% H2 in He,
KMn8O16
KMn8O16
KMn8O16


250° C., 1 hr


2% H2 in He,
Mn3O4, MnO,
Mn2O3 KMn8O16
Mn2O3 KMn8O16


300° C., 1 hr
KMn8O16
(Mn3O4)
(Mn3O4)


2% H2 in He,
MnO, (Mn3O4)
Mn3O4 (KMn8O16
Mn2O3 KMn8O16


350° C., 1 hr

MnO)
(Mn3O4)


2% H2 in He,
MnO
Mn3O4 (MnO
Mn2O3 KMn8O16


550° C., 1 hr

KMn8O16)
(Mn3O4)


Rich exhaust (table
Mn3O4 K2Mn4O8
Mn3O4 KMn8O16
Mn2O3 KMn8O16


7), 550° C. 1 hr
(MnO)
(MnO)
(Mn3O4)





*Major phase listed first, minor phase listed in parentheses.


# Rich exhaust composition given in Table 7.






The properties of the reduction-oxidation treated cryptomelane were seen to change significantly. The rich-exhaust treated cryptomelane (550° C. for one hour) was found to have a significantly reduced surface area (5.1 m2/g) and SO2 sorption capacity.
Example 12
Stability of Cryptomelane Under Lean-Rich Cycling
An analysis of the results discussed in Examples 10 and 11 show that whether or not cryptomelane can recover its original crystal structure and its original SO2 sorption performance after a reduction-oxidation cycle largely depends on the composition of the reductant and the cryptomelane treatment history. In an effort to study the effect of lean-rich cycling (NOx trap approach) on cryptomelane, cryptomelane was subjected to lean-rich cycles at 475° C. for 6.5 hours (cycling at 360 seconds lean and 30 seconds rich). The exhaust gas flow was 26,000 hr−1 GHSV and its composition was the same as is listed in Table 7.
XRD patterns of cryptomelane taken both before and after the treatment cycle were almost identical. Some morphology changes were observed under SEM, and cryptomelane's BET surface area decreased from 74 m2/g to 20 m2/g after treatment. However, the SO2 sorption performance of the lean-rich treated cryptomelane was very close to that of fresh cryptomelane. Additionally, as revealed from the XRD pattern of lean-rich cycled cryptomelane loaded with SO2, a substantial amount of the cryptomelane was used for SO2 sorption.
The DSC analysis above indicated that cryptomelane can be re-oxidized at a lower temperature (e.g., 250° C.) than the temperature at which it can be reduced (e.g., 300° C.).
Since the lean-rich cycling was performed at a constant temperature of 475° C., any cryptomelate that was reduced during the rich conditions was re-oxidized during the lean condition with the end result being that the cryptomelane structure remained unchanged. Moreover, the fact that the re-oxidation temperature is below the reduction temperature of cryptomelane provides ample flexibility in selecting the operating temperature (or temperature range) for lean-rich cycling such that any cryptomelate that is reduced during the rich conditions can be re-oxidized during the lean condition.
Example 13
Stability of SO2-Loaded Cryptomelane
After SO2 sorption occurs on cryptomelane, MnSO4 and K2Mn2(SO4)3 form. As determined by TGA, these compounds are very stable in an oxidizing atmosphere. The stability of the SO2-sorbed cryptomelane was studied using TGA-MS analysis on SO2-loaded cryptomelane. From a sulfur stabilization point of view, the used cryptomelane was stable at temperature up to approximately 600° C. in 2% H2 in He. At temperatures above 600° C. SO2 and H2S were released from the cryptomelane. At approximately 200° C., some H2O was released from the sorbent. Similar results were also observed when Cu-doped and Cr-doped SO2-sorbed cryptomelane was studied. Doping Cu or Cr into cryptomelane did not affect the stability of the SO2-loaded sorbent.
Stability of the used sorbent under a rich stimulant was studied by continuously passing 2% CO and 2000 ppm C3H6 (balanced in Ar) through the used sorbent at 70,000 hr−1 GHSV. Table 9 shows the sulfur concentration in the off gas at different temperatures. At temperatures below about 450° C., the used sorbent was stable in rich exhaust gas, as only a small amount of sulfur was released from the sorbent. At approximately 500° C., the used sorbent was relatively unstable and a larger amount of sulfur (100 ppm) was released from the sorbent. After 20 hours of reduction, it was found, using XRD analysis, that MnSO4 had been reduced to MnO and MnS. K2Mn2(SO4)3 appeared to remain stable under this extreme condition. When exposed again to air at 500° C., the MnO and MnS were oxidized back to Mn3O4 and MnSO4. At the same time, some SOx was released from the sorbent.







TABLE 9





Sulfur Concentration in Off Gas from Used


KMn8O16 (MnSO4) Reduced in 2% CO/2000 ppm C3H6 at 70K−1 GHSV

















Temperature, ° C.













20
150
200
250
300





[S] out, ppm
<100 ppb
<100 ppb
<100 ppb
<100 ppb
<100 ppb













Temperature, ° C.















350
400
450
500







[S] out, ppm
300 ppb
1.8 ppm
10 ppm
~100 ppm










Discussion of Examples 10 through 13
Cryptomelane, a high capacity SOx sorbent, was shown to be stable under oxidizing conditions and, in general, to be easily re-oxidized after reduction. However, when subjected to reducing conditions for extended periods, the SO2 capacity upon re-oxidation can be significantly less than that for fresh cryptomelane. However, for the type of lean-rich cycling proposed for NOx trap regeneration, cryptomelane showed no noticeable change in its crystal structure or in its SO2 sorption capacity. Further, after SO2 sorption, the used cryptomelane was shown to be stable and avoided releasing any significant amount of sulfur up to moderate temperatures.
Example 14
Silver Hollandite Synthesis and Characterization
Ag-hollandite was synthesized using post-ion exchange treatment of cryptomelane in AgNO3 solution, followed by calcination in air. The cryptomelane was prepared using the method described in reference 3 below. A typical post-ion exchange treatment of cryptomelane (denoted as method A) included adding 1.0 g of cryptomelane to 100 mL 1M AgNO3 solution, putting the mixture into a temperature-controlled shaker and heating to 55° C. under continuous shaking. The total ion exchange duration was 24 hrs. The liquid was decanted, and the solid was dried in air at 120° C. overnight. The dried powder was calcined in air at 500° C. for 2 hours. The yield was 1.3 g.
A second method (denoted as method B) to synthesize silver hollandite from cryptomelane involved performing the ion exchange in a melt of the silver salt, rather than in solution. More specifically 2.0 g of cryptomelane were added to 20 mL of 1M AgNO3 solution, the mixture was put into a temperature-controlled furnace and heated to 150° C. for 3 hours, and then to 250° C. for 12 hours. After the ion exchange treatment, the extra AgNO3 in the mixture was washed off using deionized water. The yield of dried powder was 2.54 g. Table 10 displays some sample compositions that were synthesized in this study.







TABLE 10







Cation Molar Composition of Cryptomelane and Ag-Hollandite


from ICP Analysis












Sample
K %
Ag %
Mn %
















Cryptomelane
7.25
0
92.75



Ag-hollandite A
3.95
21.38
74.67



Water-washed Ag-hollandite A
3.72
19.01
77.26



Acid-washed Ag-hollandite A
3.03
8.07
88.89



Ag-hollandite B
1.52
21.22
77.26










Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns were collected with a Sintag IV diffractometer using Cu Kα radiation. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) with electron dispersion spectrum (EDS) pattern, BET surface area, ICP elemental analysis, TPR analysis, TGA-DSC, and XPS spectra were also collected on some of the tested samples. For ICP elemental analysis, about 20 mg of solid powder was dissolved in a solution of 12 ml of 2% HNO3-30% H2O2 in water. The mixture was then diluted 1000 times with 2% HNO3 before ICP chemical analysis. XPS measurements were performed using a Physical Electronics Quantum 2000 Scanning ESCA Microprobe.
SO2 Uptake and CO, Hydrocarbon (as C3H6), and NO Oxidation Measurements
The test setup included a small, fixed bed quartz tube reactor, which was heated by a small clam-shell furnace. Reactant gases were metered using mass flow controllers. In different runs, different feed gases were utilized. The SO2 analytical system comprised a HP6890 gas chromatograph equipped with a Sulfur Chemiluminescent Detector (SCD). The analytical system used was the same as that described above. The concentration of CO, C3H6, and CO2 were measured using an Agilent Quad Series Micro GC. The NO, NO2 and total NOx were measured using a 600-HCLD Digital NOx Meter (California Analytical Instruments, Inc.). During the experimental runs, the analytical system was operated continuously, sampling the effluent every three minutes. The maximum sensitivity of the system to SO2 (with SO2 feed levels at 10 ppm) was approximately 50 ppb, and to CO, CO2, C3H6, NO, NO2 was approximately 5 ppm. Typical measurements employed a 0.2 g sample, pressed and sieved to 40-80 mesh. Each sample was pretreated in flowing air (100 sccm) at 500° C. for two hours prior to measuring SO2 uptake and oxidation performance.
Results and Discussion
The structure of silver hollandite is different than that of traditional hollandite in that the silver cations do not occupy the centers of the cubic cages formed by MnO6 octahedra, but rather the common faces of the cubes, coordinated with four oxygen anions at about 0.24 nm. This special structure, as well as the special property of Ag cations and Ag—Mn mixtures, may contribute to some unique catalytic and ion conductive properties.
The Ag+ cation can be doped into the tunnel structure of cryptomelane by post ion-exchange. Actually, cryptomelane can be effective for selective sorption of Ag+ at a low pH range, even in the presence of large amount of other cations. After the Ag+ ion exchange, the original cryptomelane crystal structure disappears, and a crystallized Ag-hollandite forms.
Highly crystallized Ag-hollandite was obtained using synthesis method A (Ag-hollandite A) as described above, i.e., by ion exchanging at 55° C. and calcining without intermediate wash of the product with DI water. FIGS. 13-15 show the resulting XRD pattern, TEM image and selected area electron dispersion spectrum, respectively. The cation composition is given in Table 10.
The XRD pattern (FIG. 12) matched well with that of Ag-hollandite, Ag1.8Mn8O16. Certain amounts of metallic silver also existed in the final product. Because there was no product washing before final calcination, it is believed that this metallic silver came from the decomposition of the extra AgNO3. These silver particles were so big that they were visible to the naked eye. The crystal size of Ag-hollandite A was small. The crystals were needle-like, being approximately 30 nm in width and 100-200 nm in length. This morphology is quite similar to that of the cryptomelane, except that the Ag-hollandite crystals were relatively shorter.
The EDS pattern and ICP analysis both show evidence of a small amount of K+ in the crystal structure, which indicated that the ion exchange process was not substantially complete. This also suggests that the Ag-hollandite crystal structure was able to accommodate a small amount of K+.
Chemical analysis of a water-washed sample of Ag-hollandite A with large silver particles manually picked out indicated that the K+ ions were potentially located inside the hollandite structure. The BET surface area of the as-synthesized material (Ag-Hollandite A) was 35 m2/g, which can be mostly attributed to the small particle size.
In an attempt to remove the extra metallic silver, the Ag-hollandite A final product was treated with a 2M HNO3 solution. It was found, using XRD pattern analysis, that the silver phase could be removed, but that extra hollandite structure also resulted. Additionally, ICP results showed that the amount of silver in the sample was less than that in Ag-hollandite A. This indicated that the Ag+ cations inside the tunnel structure of Ag-hollandite could be easily removed and replaced by H+ cations, and that the use of an acid wash to purify the Ag-Hollandite A was not advantageous.
In another attempt to remove the extra silver phase, the ion-exchanged cryptomelane was washed with DI water before the final calcinations occurred. Although the silver phase was removed in the final product, excess hollandite structure showed up again. The XRD pattern of this sample was similar to that of the intermediate product for Ag-hollandite A, i.e., cryptomelane ion exchanged in 1M AgNO3 at 55° C., washed off extra AgNO3 with DI water, and dried at 120° C. in air with no calcination at 500° C.
Because no other cations were available for ion exchange with Ag+ during washing with DI water, those Ag+ cations already exchanged with the K+ cations likely remained in their original structure. This also suggests that the final calcination step did not change the structure when no additional AgNO3 was available. In other words, the difference in the final product structure and cation composition between the intermediated washed sample and the non-washed sample likely came from changes during the calcination step. Thus, to get highly crystallized Ag-hollandite in the Ag-Hollandite A synthesis method, the calcination would appear to benefit from being carried out without washing off the extra AgNO3.
In the Ag-Hollandite A synthesis method, the final calcination step involved heating in air from 25 to 500° C. at a rate of 10° C./min, and then maintaining at 500° C. for 2 hours. Under this condition, the extra AgNO3 melted first (at approximately 212° C.) and then decomposed (at approximately 444° C.). It was postulated that most of the ion exchange reaction between Ag+ and K+ occurred between 212° C. and 444° C. in the AgNO3 melt, rather than during the calcination at 500° C. The Ag-hollandite synthesis method B was developed to test the theory that significant ion exchange occurs in the silver salt melt.
FIG. 15 shows the XRD pattern of the Ag-hollandite formed via method B, and FIGS. 16 and 17 show selected TEM images. In the TEM images (FIGS. 16 and 17), small silver particles (indicated as spot B) are evident coated on the Ag-hollandite surface (spot A). The EDS spectrums of spots A and B are given in FIGS. 18 and 19 respectively.
The EDS signal for Ag from spot A (Ag-hollandite crystal without Ag metal) is smaller than that for Mn, whereas in the EDS signal for spot B, the Ag signal is much larger than that for Mn. This indicates that even in method B, there are still some Ag particles on the Ag-hollandite surface. Note that the signal ratio of Ag/Mn in spot A (Ag-hollandite crystal from method B without Ag metal) is larger than that in FIG. 14 (Ag-hollandite from method A). This indicates the Ag concentration in the method B synthesized Ag-hollandite is much higher than that in the previous sample (method A). The composition of Ag-Hollandite B is given in Table 10.
Compared to the Ag-hollandite from method A, the Ag-hollandite B has several special properties. For example, in the XRD patterns for Ag-Hollandite A (FIG. 12) a silver peak is present, but no such peak is observed in the XRD pattern for Ag-hollandite B (FIG. 15). Additionally, the crystal size of Ag-hollandite B is slightly larger than that from method A, and was almost the same as that of the starting material, cryptomelane. Further, some small silver particles (<5 nm diameter) were found coated on the Ag-hollandite B surface, which was not seen on the previous Ag-hollandite sample. Finally, in Ag-hollandite B, the K+ concentration decreased, and the Ag+ concentration increased.
Generally, the Ag-Hollandite B synthesis method yielded more pure Ag-hollandite products, and the ion-exchange between silver and potassium cations was substantially completed. The small silver particles may have resulted from the decomposition of a small amount of AgNO3 at 250° C. during the ion exchange synthesis process. The small particle size of Ag-hollandite A may be the result of AgNO3 decomposition, i.e., the NOx gas may cut the long crystal into small pieces.
Like cryptomelane, Ag-hollandite is quite stable under oxidation conditions. When heated in air, for example its structure remains unchanged up to about 700° C. However, under reducing conditions, its reactivity is somewhat enhanced. The reactivity of cryptomelane and Ag-hollandite A and B were studied in 10% H2 in Ar using TPR analysis. As found, H2 reacted with Ag-hollandite A and B at temperatures as low as 100° C., whereas cryptomelane required temperatures higher than 250° C. to react with H2. This unique Ag-hollandite property has use in the low temperature oxidation of some reductants.
Like the cryptomelane discussed above, silver hollandite was also found to be a good high-capacity SOx sorbent, particularly so at lower temperatures. Table 11 shows the low temperature SO2 sorption performance of Ag-hollandite. When compared to cryptomelane, Ag-hollandite shows much higher SO2 capacity at low temperatures. Ag-hollandite from method B has a SO2 capacity of about 8.75 wt % at 150° C., and 26.8 wt % at about 200° C. Ag-hollandite from method A also shows a higher low-temperature SO2 capacity (28 wt % at about 250° C.) than cryptomelane. The low temperature SO2 capacity strongly depends on how much Ag-hollandite is present in the sorbent. As pointed out above, in synthesis method A, if extra AgNO3 is washed off before final calcination, (i.e., no ion exchange occurs in the silver salt melt) only a small amount of Ag-hollandite is formed. As a result, this sorbent shows a low SO2 capacity at low temperatures.
For comparison, several other sorbents, including Ca(OH)2 (from Aldrich), Ca(OH)2 (from thermal decomposition of Ca(OH)2 at 600° C. 12 hours), and a ZrO2—CeO2—La2O3 (62, 29, 9 wt %) mixture (from Daiichi Kigenso Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.) were also tested and their SO2 capacities are given in Table 11. Previous work has shown that these materials show relatively high SO2 capacity at 325° C.







TABLE 11







SO2 Breakthrough Capacity of Ag-Hollandites and Other Sorbents











Sorbent
150° C.
200° C.
250° C.
325° C.














Cryptomelane
1.54
1.60
2.90
63.85


Ag-hollandite B
8.75
26.84
33.42
42.5


Ag-hollandite A
2.20
5.20
38.1
43.3 (36x)


Acid-washed Ag-hollandite A
1.71
1.71
4.12


CaO
4.25
10.65
20.70


Ca(OH)2
1.60
4.07
7.52


Ce—Zr—La#14
2.22
2.22
2.22





Feed: 10 ppm SO2 in air unless specified, GHSV: 60K hr−1


Breakthrough capacity (100 × (g SO2)/(g sorbent)): defined as the point where SO2 out exceeded 100 ppb.


xFeed gas: 10 ppm SO2, 230 ppm NO, 500 ppm CO, 378 ppm C3H6, 15% O2, balanced in N2, GHSV: 60K hr−1.






The CO oxidation and C3H6 oxidation properties of Ag-hollandite and cryptomelane were compared over various temperatures, and the results plotted in FIGS. 20-21. At higher temperatures (i.e. above about 200), the conversions were similar, but for Ag-hollandite, the plots show significantly higher conversion at lower temperatures. For example, at 100° C., Ag-hollandite B can oxidize more than 80% of CO to CO2, versus less than 2% for cryptomelane. At 150° C., Ag-hollandite B can oxidize 70% of the C3H6 present to CO2, versus about 50% for cryptomelane. Ag-hollandite was also seen to have a greater low-temperature sulfur tolerance relative to cryptomelane, which is reasonable because Ag-hollandite is a better low-temperature sulfur sorbent. With 8 ppm SO2 in the feed, CO conversion over cryptomelane at 200° C. decreases from 100% to 60% over 15 hours, whereas, the corresponding conversion over Ag-hollandite B at 150° C. remains unchanged (CO conversion stays at 100%).
Ag-hollandite also can be useful in the oxidation of NO. FIG. 22 shows the oxidation performance of Ag-hollandite and cryptomelane with respect to NO, i.e. oxidizing NO to NO2 at different temperatures. At 200° C., Ag-hollandite can oxidize 38% of the NO present to NO2, however, at higher temperatures (e.g., above 300° C.), its NO oxidation ability seems to be less than that of cryptomelane. At temperatures above about 300° C., the NO oxidation of Ag-hollandite B is generally about 20% lower than that of cryptomelane. While this result seems inconsistent with the observation that Ag-hollandite is more reactive with reductants than cryptomelane, the inconsistency can be explained, for example, by a difference in de-NOx performance (i.e., conversion of NOx to N2) of Ag-hollandite and cryptomelane. The de-NOx performance was measured for Ag-hollandite and cryptomelane, and the results are given in FIG. 23. As can be seen, Ag-hollandite shows substantially greater ability to decrease the total NOx in the feed in the 200° C. to 350° C. range. Therefore, the difference in NO oxidation ability between cryptomelane and Ag-hollandite (noted with respect to FIG. 22) likely comes from this difference in their de-NOx abilities, for example, some NO2 is decomposed to N2 and O2 by Ag-hollandite.
Ag-hollandite also can be useful as a catalyst for CO, NO, and C3H6 oxidation reactions, since no structure change was observed after these reactions based on XRD analysis. Also, as shown in Table 11, Ag-hollandite A has 36 wt % SO2 capacity at 325° C. using stimulant exhaust gas with CO, C3H6, and NO as feed gas. If CO, NO, or C3H6 has the ability to permanently reduce Ag-hollandite, the SO2 capacity would have shown a larger decrease. Therefore, after reaction with these reductants, the reduced Ag-hollandite must be readily oxidized back to its original structure by the oxygen in the feed gas.
Summary of Example 14
Ag-hollandite was successfully synthesized by the ion exchange of cryptomelane in an AgNO3 melt. Compared to the high temperature solid state syntheses process described in references 11 and 12 below, this process is very simple and the resulting Ag-Hollandite has a smaller crystal size and a higher surface area. Ag-hollandite synthesized according to certain embodiments disclosed above, was found to be even more useful as a low-temperature SO2 sorbent than cryptomelane. Ag-hollandite can also be used as active catalyst for oxidation of CO, NO, hydrocarbons and sulfur-containing compounds. Silver-hollandite is able to maintain this catalytic oxidation behavior even when the material is simultaneously aging by sorption of SO2, whereas many other oxidation catalysts rapidly lose oxidation activity toward these gases as SO2 sorption progresses. Moreover, with CO—NO mixtures, silver-hollandite shows evidence of lean NOx conversion, i.e., partial conversion of NOx to N2 gas, which can be advantageous in emissions control.
Additional details of these studies can be found in the above referenced U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/649,656, filed Feb. 3, 2005.
Example 15
Desulfurization
Silver hollandite and cryptomelane were found to be effective for desulfurization of hydrocarbon gases and liquids. By way of theory, this desulfurization may involve sorption and/or catalysis.
When liquid hydrocarbons are treated with Cu(I) or Cu(II) zeolites, a variety of new sulfur-containing compounds are formed. FIGS. 24A and B illustrate this by showing sulfur-specific gas chromatographic traces of a liquid hydrocarbon before (FIG. 2A) and after (FIG. 2B) a sorption process using a Cu(I)Y zeolite. The liquid hydrocarbon was ARCO gasoline with a 92 octane rating (ARCO92). The ARCO92 was spiked with 3 ppmw each of ethanethiol (peak A), 2-propanethiol (peak B), 2-methyl-2-propanethiol (peak C), thiophene (peak D), 2-methyl thiophene (peak E), 3-methyl thiophene (peak F), 2,5-dimethyl thiophene (peak G), benzothiophene (peak H), and dibenzothiophene (peak I). The sorption process included mixing 15 mL of the spiked ARCO92 with 0.15 g of Cu(I)Y zeolite at room temperature and allowing the mixture to sit overnight. In FIG. 2B, the unlabeled peaks represent new sulfur compounds formed during the sorption process. New sulfur compounds also were found after a similar sorption process using Cu(II)Y zeolite.
Both the Cu(I) and Cu(II) zeolites removed about 100% of the thiols and none of the thiophenic compounds. When tested on the same spiked liquid hydrocarbon, silver hollandite also removed about 100% of the thiols and none of the thiophenic compounds. However, unlike the Cu(I) and Cu(II) zeolites, the silver hollandite did not generate new sulfur compounds. Furthermore, when silver hollandite was added to the liquid hydrocarbons previously treated with Cu(I) and Cu(II) zeolites, the new sulfur compounds were removed.
In another set of trials, silver hollandite was compared to Cu(I)Y and Cu(II)Y for polishing hydrodesulfurized light-cut JP8 jet fuel. The results are shown in Table 12.







TABLE 12







JP8 light-cut HDS product polishing tests











Sulfur




Removal


Sorbent
Treatment
%





Cu(I)Y
100 mg Cu(I)Y added to 10 mL 16 ppm HDS
27



product mixed at room temp. for 16 hr


Cu(II)Y
100 mg Cu(II)Y (preheated at 120° C. for 8 hr)
31



added to 10 mL 16 ppm HDS product mixed at



room temp. for 16 hr


Cu(II)Y
500 mg Cu(II)Y (preheated at 120° C. for 8 hr)
47



added to 10 mL 16 ppm HDS product mixed at



room temp. for 16 hr


Ag-
100 mg Ag-hollandite added to 10 mL 16 ppm
53


hollandite
HDS product mixed at room temp. for 16 hr


Ag-
500 mg Ag-hollandite added to 10 mL 16 ppm
77


hollandite
HDS product mixed at room temp. for 16 hr









FIGS. 25A-C are sulfur-specific gas chromatographic traces showing how treatment with cryptomelane affects the concentration of sulfur compounds in hydrodesulfurized light-cut JP8 jet fuel. FIG. 25A is a sulfur-specific gas chromatographic trace of hydrodesulfurized light-cut JP8 jet fuel having 325 ppm sulfur. FIG. 25B is a sulfur-specific gas chromatographic trace of the jet fuel after oxidative desulfurization with cryptomelane (100 mg cryptomelane added to a mixture of 10 mL 1M HNO3 and 10 mL jet fuel mixed at 68° C. for 16 hr) showing 130 ppm sulfur remaining. Finally, FIG. 25C is a sulfur-specific gas chromatographic trace of the jet fuel after the organic phase was separated and treated with 15 ml DI water three times. The final sulfur content was 26 ppm. Rinsing with DI water may have removed somewhat polar oxidation products, such as sulfones.
FIG. 26 is a plot illustrating the use of cryptomelane to sorb H2S from nitrogen gas. The test was performed at 100° C. using nitrogen gas with 70 ppm H2S and a GHSV of 75,000 hr−1. FIG. 27 is a XRD plot showing the presence of MnS in the product generated by a cryptomelane sorption process performed on natural gas. Elemental sulfur also was observed. The elemental sulfur may have resulted from incomplete oxidation of sulfur-containing compounds in the natural gas.
In another embodiment of the disclosed method, methane was spiked with 10 ppm each of dimethyl sulfide, isopropyl mercaptan, tertiary-butyl mercaptan and tetrahydrothiophene and exposed to silver hollandite or Cu(II)Y zeolite at 25° C. and a GHSV of 10,000 hr−1. The sulfur capacity using silver hollandite was found to be 0.8 (grams sulfur)/(grams sorbent).
CLOSURE
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character. Only certain embodiments have been shown and described, and all changes, equivalents, and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention described herein are desired to be protected. Any experiments, experimental examples, or experimental results provided herein are intended to be illustrative of the present invention and should not be considered limiting or restrictive with regard to the invention scope. Further, any theory, mechanism of operation, proof, or finding stated herein is meant to further enhance understanding of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way to such theory, mechanism of operation, proof, or finding.
Thus, the specifics of this description and the attached drawings should not be interpreted to limit the scope of this invention to the specifics thereof. Rather, the scope of this invention should be evaluated with reference to the claims appended hereto. In reading the claims it is intended that when words such as “a,” “an,” “at least one,” and “at least a portion” are used there is no intention to limit the claims to only one item unless specifically stated to the contrary in the claims. Further, when the language “at least a portion” and/or “a portion” is used, the claims may include a portion and/or the entire items unless specifically stated to the contrary.
Likewise, where the term “input” or “output” is used in connection with a fluid processing unit, it should be understood to comprehend singular or plural and one or more fluid channels as appropriate in the context. Finally, all publications, patents, and patent applications cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the extent not inconsistent with the present disclosure as if each were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference and set forth in its entirety herein, including the following scientific publications referenced in the specification above:

    (1) X. Chen, Y. F. Shen, S. L. Suib, and C. L. O'Young, “Characterization of Manganese Oxide Octahedral Molecular Sieve (M-OMS-2) Materials with Different Metal Cation Dopants,” Chem. Mater. 2002, 14, 940-948.
    (2) G. G. Xia, Y. G. Yin, W. S. Willis, J. Y. Wang, and S. L. Suib, “Efficient Stable Catalysts for Low Temperature Carbon Monoxide Oxidation”, J. Catal. 1999, 185, 91-105.
    (3) R. N. DeGuzman, Y. F. Shen, E. J. Neth, S. L. Suib, C. K. O'Young, S. Levine, and J. M. Newsam, “Synthesis and Characterization of Octahedral Molecular Sieves (OMS-2) Having the Hollandite Structure,” Chem. Mater. 1994, 6 815-821.
    (4) S. L. Suib, C-L O'Young, “Synthesis of Porous Materials,” M. L. Occelli, H. Kessler, eds, M. Dekker, Inc., p. 215, 1997.
    (5) D. C. Golden, C. C. Chen, and J. B. Dixon, “Synthesis of Todorokite,” Science. 1986, 231, 717-719.
    (6) D. C. Golden, C. C. Chen, and J. B. Dixon, “Transformation of birnessite to buserite, todorokite, and manganite under mild hydrothermal treatment,” Clays Clay Miner. 1987, 35, 271-280.
    (7) J. P. Parant, R. Olazcuaga, M. Devalette, C. Fouassier, and P. Hagenmuller, “Sur Quelques Nouvelles Phases de Formule NaxMnO2(x<1),” J. Solid State Chem. 1971, 3, 1-11.
    (8) Y. F. Shen, R. P. Zerger, R. N. DeGuzman, S. L. Suib, L. McCurdy, D. I. Potter, and C. L. O'Young, “Manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieves: preparation, characterization, and applications,” Science. 1993, 260, 511-515.
    (9) G. G. Xia, W. Tong, E. N. Tolentino, N. G. Duan, S. L. Brock, J. Y. Wang, S. L. Suib, and T. Ressler, “Synthesis and characterization of nanofibrous sodium manganese oxide with a 2×4 tunnel structure,” Chem. Mater. 2001, 13, 1585-1592.
    (10) R. Burch, “Knowledge and Know-How in Emission Control for Mobile Applications,” Catalysis Reviews, Vol. 46, No. 3-4, pp. 271-333, 2004.
    (11) F. M. Chang and M. Jansen, “Ag1.8Mn8O16: Square Planar Coordinated At+ Ions in the Channels of a Novel Hollandite Variant,” Agnew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engt. 23, No. 11, pp. 906-907, 1984.
    (12) F. M. Chang and M. Jansen, “Der Erste Silberhollandit,” Revuede Clzimie Minerale, Vol 23(1), pp. 48-54, 1986.

## Claims

1. A method for treating a liquid comprising a liquid hydrocarbon, comprising exposing the liquid to silver hollandite at a temperature from about 50° C. to about 350° C. such that the silver hollandite catalyzes oxidation of from about 10% to about 100% of at least one compound in the liquid hydrocarbon.

2. A method for treating a gas comprising NO, comprising exposing the gas to silver hollandite at a temperature from about 50° C. to about 350° C. such that the silver hollandite catalyzes oxidation of from about 10% to about 100% of the NO.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the gas or liquid is a gas and the gas comprises a combustion exhaust stream.

4. A method for treating a gas or liquid, wherein the gas or liquid comprises a hydrocarbon, comprising exposing the gas or liquid to silver hollandite at a temperature from about 50° C. to about 350° C. such that the silver hollandite catalyzes oxidation of from about 10% to about 100% of the hydrocarbon.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the gas or liquid is a gas and the gas comprises a combustion exhaust stream.

6. A method for treating a gas or liquid, comprising exposing the gas or liquid to silver hollandite such that the silver hollandite catalyzes oxidation of a substantial portion of at least one sulfur-containing compound in the gas or liquid to produce a sulfur-containing product, and the silver hollandite sorbs a substantial portion of the sulfur-containing product.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the gas or liquid comprises a sulfur-containing compound having at least one thiol group.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the silver hollandite catalyzes oxidation of from about 10% to about 100% of the sulfur-containing compound.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the sulfur-containing compound is a sulfur-containing compound having at least one thiol group, a sulfur-containing compound having at least one sulfide bond, a sulfur-containing compound having at least one disulfide bond, H2S, or a combination thereof.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the silver hollandite sorbs from about 10% to about 100% of the sulfur-containing product.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the sulfur-containing product is SO2.

12. The method according to claim 6, wherein the sulfur-containing product is SO2.

13. A method for removing a substantial portion of at least one sulfur-containing compound from a gas or liquid comprising exposing the gas or liquid to silver hollandite.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the gas or liquid is a gas and the gas comprises natural gas.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the natural gas is exposed to the silver hollandite at a temperature from about ambient temperature to about 250° C.

16. A method for removing a substantial portion of at least one sulfur-containing compound from a liquid hydrocarbon, comprising exposing the liquid hydrocarbon to silver hollandite.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the liquid hydrocarbon is exposed to the silver hollandite at a temperature from about ambient temperature to about 100° C.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising rinsing the liquid hydrocarbon with a polar liquid after exposing the liquid hydrocarbon to silver hollandite, wherein the polar liquid removes the sulfur-containing compound from the liquid hydrocarbon.

19. A method for removing a substantial portion of NO2 in a gas, comprising exposing the gas to silver hollandite such that the silver hollandite catalyzes reduction of a substantial portion of the NO2 to form N2 and O2.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the gas is exposed to the silver hollandite at a temperature from about 150° C. to about 350° C.

21. A catalytic device comprising silver hollandite, wherein the catalytic device is configured to expose a gas or liquid to the silver hollandite such that the silver hollandite catalyzes oxidation of a substantial portion of at least one sulfur-containing compound in the gas or liquid and sorbs a sulfur-containing compound in the gas or liquid.

22. The device according to claim 21, wherein the gas or liquid comprises natural gas.

23. The device according to claim 21, wherein the sulfur-containing compound sorbed by the silver hollandite is a sulfur-containing product produced by oxidation of the at least one sulfur-containing compound in the gas or liquid.

24. A sulfur-removal device comprising silver hollandite, wherein the sulfur-removal device is configured to expose a gas or liquid to the silver hollandite so as to remove a substantial portion of at least one sulfur-containing compound from the gas or liquid.

25. A catalytic device comprising silver hollandite, wherein the catalytic device is configured to expose a gas or liquid to the silver hollandite such that the silver hollandite reduces a substantial portion of NO2 in the gas or liquid to form N2 and O2.

26. A method for treating a gas or liquid, comprising exposing the gas or liquid to silver hollandite such that the silver hollandite catalyzes oxidation of from about 10% to about 100% of at least one compound in the gas or liquid.