CATALYST AND METHOD FOR PURIFYING EXHAUST GASES FROM NITROGEN OXIDES

Abstract: Nitrogen oxides are removed from flue gases from fuel burning plants and nitric acid production plants by means of a catalyst comprising a support and a catalytically active material. The catalytically active material is an ultrastable zeolite Y which has been ion-exchanged with rare earth metals and/or has been combined with vanadium pentoxide. The exhaust gases are conducted in contact with the catalyst at a tempe­ rature of 275-400°C at a gas hourly space velocity of at last 7500 h -1 .

Description: Nitrogen oxides are formed, inter alia, during combustion of fossil fuels due to oxidation of the molecular nitrogen in the combustion air, and also due to oxidation of nitrogen chemically bonded in the fuel. Nitrogen oxides also occur in flue or ex­ haust gases from nitric acid production plants. Va­ rious catalysts and methods for removing such nitrogen oxides from flue gases have previously been suggested. As an example, mention may be made of U.S. patent specification 4,157,375 which discloses a catalyst material based upon a combination of zeolite and tran­ sition metal, provided on a support in the form of, for example, a honeycomb structure. U.S. patent speci­ fication 4,046,888 discloses another method for re­ moving nitrogen oxides, use being made of a catalyst based upon zeolite and copper, in which method ammonia is admixed to the gas inflow. Also British patent specification 1,393,053 describes a method of purifying, by means of a zeolite material ion-exchanged with silver, waste gases in the presence of ammonia. German Offenlegungsschrift DE-A-2,555,189 dis­ closes a method of producing a vanadium catalyst in­ tended for the selective reduction of nitrogen oxides and carried by a support, such as alumina. It has now been discovered that a very efficient purification of flue gases may be obtained if use is made, for the purification, of a catalyst compris­ ing a support and a catalytically active material, said catalytically active material comprising an ultra­ stable zeolite Y ion-exchanged with rare earth metals and/or combined with vanadium pentoxide. In connection with the cracking of hydrocarbons, especially petroleum hydrocarbons, it is previously known in and per se to utilise catalysts based upon ultrastable zeolite Y which, optionally, has been ion-exchanged with rare earth metals (RE). As examples of such known cracking catalysts, mention may be made of the catalysts according to U.S. patent specification 4,456,693 and British patent specification 1,393,501. The present invention, on the other hand, relates to a catalytic reaction of an entirely different type, i.e. a reduction of nitrogen oxides. It should also be mentioned that vanadium pentoxide is poisonous to cracking catalysts. It has been found, in connection with this inven­ tion, that the catalyst, if no vanadium pentoxide is used, should preferably contain 10-60% by weight of RE ion-exchanged zeolite USY, 1-10% by weight alu­ mina, and 1-20% by weight SiO₂, the balance being clay, and even more preferably 40-60% by weight of RE ion-exchanged zeolite USY, 5-10% by weight alumina, and 2-5% by weight SiO₂, the balance being clay. An especially preferred embodiment contains 50% by weight of RE ion-exchanged zeolite USY, 10% by weight alumina, 3% by weight SiO₂ and 37% by weight attapulgite. If the catalyst comprises an ultrastable zeolite Y in combination with vanadium pentoxide, it has been found that the catalyst should preferably contain 5-30% by weight vanadium pentoxide, the balance of the catalyst preferably being a mixture of 10-60% by weight zeolite USY, 1-10% by weight alumina, and 1-20% by weight SiO₂, the balance being clay, and even more preferably 10-30% by weight zeolite USY, 5-15% by weight alumina, and 2-5% by weight SiO₂, the balance being clay. An especially preferred embo­ diment contains 20% by weight vanadium pentoxide, the balance being a mixture of 27% by weight zeolite USY, 10% by weight alumina, 3% by weight SiO₂ and 60% by weight clay. If it is desired to further increase the nitrogen oxide conversion ability of a catalyst containing vanadium pentoxide, zeolite USY may also be ion-exchanged with RE ions. The invention also comprises a method for purifying flue gases from nitrogen oxides, in which method the flue gases are conducted through or contacted with a catalyst having the above-mentioned composition, the temperature being 275-400°C. The gas hourly space velocity of the flue gases may be higher than 3000 h -1 , for example 5000 h -1 , or higher. One advantage of the catalyst and the method according to the present invention is that substantially complete purification can be achieved also at very high spae velocities. Thus, the flue gas flow may have a gas hourly space velocity as high as at least 7500 h -1 , especially at least 10000 h -1 , or higher. The method can be carried out by conducting the flue gases through a stationary bed of pellets of the catalyst, through a honeycomb structure coated with said catalyst, or through a fluidised bed of said catalyst. It is especially advan­ tageous if the flue gas flow is mixed with ammonia in per se known manner. In carrying the invention into effect, use may be made, in addition to the above-mentioned support, of a macro-support in the form of, for example, a honeycomb structure, spheres, grains or plates to which macro-support the catalyst according to the invention has been applied, for example in the form of a surface layer. If a macro-support is used, the percentages indicated should be calculated on the active part of the catalyst, i.e. the catalyst mass exclusive of the macro-support. One method of preparing a catalyst for the purpose of the invention is to peptise the alumina with, for example, formic acid, whereupon water glass, zeolite and clay are admixed to form an extrudable mass. After extrusion, the extrudate may be air-dried for a suitable period of time. If the zeolite is used in combination with vanadium pentoxide, impregnation with ammonium vanadate is then carried out, followed by calcining at, for example, 550°C for 2 h. If, on the other hand, the zeolite is to be used without vanadium pentoxide, and if it is to have the form of a RE ion-exchanged zeolite USY, calcining is carried out at, for example, 550°C for 2 h after drying. If the zeolite in the catalyst is to be a RE ion-exchanged zeolite USY, the calcined catalyst is ion-exchanged with rare earth metals in per se known manner. Finally, drying is carried out to provide a usable product. However, the RE ion-exchange may be carried out before the zeolite is admixed to the remaining components. In making the catalyst, it is preferred to combine the zeolite with the support in the manner disclosed in PCT PUblication WO85/03241 which is here included by reference. Besides attapulgite as clay material and support in the catalyst according to the invention, use may be made of such materials as halloysite, sepiolite or chrysotile, or mixtures thereof. The silica may be supplied as water glass or silica sol. The aluminium oxide is preferably supplied as alumina. The invention will be described in more detail below, reference being had to the following Examples and to the accompanying drawings in which Figs. 1, 2 and 4 are diagrams showing the reaction of nitrogen oxides as a function of the temperature when utilising different catalysts in the following Examples, and in which Fig. 3 illustrates the pore size distribution of a catalyst according to Example 2. Regarding the methods of producing the different zeolite types herein mentioned, reference is made to, for example, Donald W. Breck, "Zeolite Molecular Sieves", John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1974. EXAMPLE 1 A mixture was formed of 50% zeolite USHY, 10% alumina sol, 3% SiO₂ (as water glass) and 37% attapul­ gite clay. The zeolite Y employed thus was an ultra­ stable form of zeolite Y in the hydrogen form. The alumina was purchased from Condea under the trade name "Pural® SB" and had a surface area of 250 m²/g. In preparing the catalyst, the alumina was peptised with 9% formic acid, whereupon the water glass, the zeolite and the clay were admixed and kneaded until an extrudable mass had been obtained. After extrusion, the extrudate was air-dried for 16 h, followed by calcining at 550°C for 2 h. Half the catalyst batch thus prepared was then used for control and comparison, while the other half was utilised for preparing a catalyst according to the invention. For this purpose, the other half of the catalyst batch was then subjected to ion-exchange with rare earth metals (RE) by mixing 100 g extrudate with 150 ml water at 90°C, and by adding at pH 4.5-4.8 57 ml RE solution (purchased from Rhône-Poulenc, 330 g RE₂O₃/l solution). After agitation for 1 h at 90°C, washing was effected with water supplied at a temperature of 80°C. Finally, filtration and drying at 110°C were carried out in a heating cabinet. The resulting zeolite had a RE₂O₃ content of 9.2%. The catalysts thus prepared were tested in respect of their ability to remove nitrogen oxides by placing 4.5 ml catalyst (extrudate of diameter 0.71-0.75 mm) in a reactor having an inner diameter of 0.465 cm and a length of 26 cm. Through this catalyst, flue gases were supplied which had been composed to simulate flue gases from an oil or coal fired plant and formed by mixing together oxygen, nitrogen and nitrogen oxides. The oxygen content was 2-6%, and the flue gases con­ tained nitrogen oxides in an amount of approximately 600-700 ppm (parts by volume). Before introduction into the reactor, ammonia in an amount of 600-700 ppm was also added. After steady-state condition had been achieved, i.e. the conversion of the nitrogen oxides in the flue gas flow had become constant (which required varying periods of time, i.e. from 5 min to 2 h from the start of the test), analysis values in the form of mean values were taken during a 5-min test period (inflow and outflow values were measured). The tempe­ rature of the inflowing flue gases was varied to enable assessement of the performance of the cataylsts at different temperatures. The gas hourly space velocity for the test series was 7728 ± 442 Nm³/m³.h for the control sample, and 8211 ± 481 Nm³/m³.h for the catalyst according to the invention. The enclosed Fig. 1 shows the nitrogen reduction as a function of the gas tempe­ rature for the two catalysts. In inflowing flue gases had a nitrogen oxide content of 624 ± 5 ppm, an oxygen content of 5.89 ± 0.28%, and an ammonia content of 701 ± 8 ppm in the control sample. The diagram clearly shows that the reaction of the nitrogen oxides never exceeded 95% in the temperature range 300-400°C. In the test series with the catalyst according to the invention, the inflowing flue gases had a nitrogen oxide content of 638 ± 21 ppm, an oxygen content of 5.96 ± 0.12% and an ammonia content of 686 ± 10 ppm. It appears from the diagram that a 100% conversion of the nitrogen oxides is obtained at temperatures in excess of 320°C, in spite of the very high space velocity. This shows that the invention makes it pos­ sible to utilise reactors which are smaller than those previously used in other nitrogen oxide removing plants which frequently operate at space velocities of 2000-­ 5000 h -1 . Table 1 indicates the measured values which were obtained and which form the basis of Fig. 1. EXAMPLE 2 A mixture was formed of 27% zeolite USHY, 10% alumina, 3% SiO₂ (as water glass) and 29.8% attapul­ gite clay and 29.8% halloysite. The zeolite Y employed thus was an ultrastable form of zeolite Y in the hydro­ gen form. The alumina was the same as in Example 1. In the preparation, the alumina was peptised with 9% formic acid, whereupon the water glass, the zeolite and the clay were admixed and kneaded until an extrud­ able mass had been obtained. After extrusion, the extrudate was air-dried for 16 h, followed by calcining at 550°C for 2 h. The product had a crushing strength of 1.1 ± 0.41 kg, a pore volume of 0.336 cm³/g, and the pore size distribution shown in Fig. 2. Half the catalyst batch prepared was then used for control and comparison, while the other half was utilised for preparing a catalyst according to the invention. For this purpose the other catalyst half was then subjected to impregnation with a solution of ammonium vanadate, followed by calcining at 550°C for 2 h, such that the ammonium vanadate was converted to vana­ dium pentoxide. The catalysts thus prepared were tested in respect of their ability to remove nitrogen oxides. Testing was carried out with the same synthetic flue gas mixture and in the same manner as in Example 1. As in Example 1, the temperature of the inflowing flue gases was varied to enable assessment of the performance of the catalysts at different temperatures. The gas hourly space velo­ city in the test series was 8695 ± 501 Nm³/m³ for the check sample and 13475 ± 327 Nm³/m³ for the cata­ lyst according to the invention. The enclosed Fig. 3 shows the nitrogen reduction as a function of the gas temperature for the two catalysts. In the control sample, the flue gases included had a nitrogen oxide content of 621 ± 3 ppm, an oxygen content of 2.03 ± 0.08%, and an ammonium content of 731 ± 15 ppm. In the test series with the vanadium pentoxide impregnated catalyst according to the invention, the inflowing flue gases had a nitrogen oxide content of 651 ± 4 ppm, an oxygen content of 2.21 ± 0.06%, and an ammonium content of 696 ± 3 ppm. It appears from Fig. 3 that the untreated catalyst had but an insignificant ability to convert the nitrogen oxides, whereas substantially complete conversion was obtained in the temperature range 275-350°C at a space velocity as high as 13000 h -1 when the catalyst according to the invention was utilised. This shows that the inven­ tion makes it possible to use reactors smaller than those previously used in other nitrogen oxide removing plants which frequently operate at space velocities of 2000-5000 h -1 . Table 2 indicates the measured values that were achieved and form the basis of Fig. 3. EXAMPLE 3 In this Example, a catalyst according to the invention (zeolite REUSY) was compared with other types of zeolite catalysts. The entire test series was begun with a starting material in the form of zeolite NaY which had been prepared by conventional technique and had a ratio of 4.9:1:1 between SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and Na₂O. The material batch prepared was divid­ ed into six part batches, one of which was used as zeolite NaY, while the others were subjected to dif­ ferent treatments for conversion into zeolites HY, USHY, REY, CREY and REUSY. Zeolite HY was prepared from zeolite NaY by ammonium ion-exchange and subse­ quent heating at 300°C for 1 h. The zeolite USHY was prepared from zeolite NaY by first subjecting the latter to ammonium ion-exchange in conventional manner and then heating it in conventional manner in a water vapour atmosphere at about 700°C for 70 min. The zeolite REUSY was prepared from zeolite USHY by RE ion-exchange in the manner stated in Example 1. The zeolite REY was prepared from zeolite HY by RE ion-exchange in the manner stated in Example 1. The zeolite CREY was prepared from zeolite REY by calcining at 500-650°C for 2 h. The resulting zeolite materials were then mixed with a support such that the finished catalysts comprised 50% by weight of zeolite material, 10% by weight Al₂O₃ (supplied as "PURAL® SB" from Condea) and 5% by weight SiO₂ (supplied as water glass), the balance being attapulgite clay. The catalysts thus prepared were tested in the manner stated in Example 1 in respect of their ability to remove nitrogen oxides. The synthetic flue gas flow contained 6% oxygen and 600 ppm NO X , the balance being nitrogen, and was mixed with ammonia in a NH₃:NO x ratio of 1.1:1. The gas hourly space velocity of the flue gas flow in the test series was 8000 h -1 . The result of the different catalysts is shown in Fig. 4 and Table 3, and it is clearly apparent that the cata­ lyst according to the invention, i.e. zeolite REUSY, was far superior within the temperature range 300-400°C.

Claims: 1. A catalyst for purifying flue gases from nitro­ gen oxides, comprising a support and a catalytically active material, characterised in that said catalytically active material comprises an ultra­ stable zeolite Y ion-exchanged with rare earth metals and/or combined with vanadium pentoxide. 2. A catalyst as claimed in claim 1, charac­ terised in that the catalyst has a vanadium pentoxide content of 5-30% by weight. 3. A catalyst as claimed in claim 1 or 2, cha­ racterised in that the catalyst comprises, in addition to said vanadium pentoxide, a mixture consisting of 10-60% by weight zeolite USY, 5-15% by weight alumina, and 2-5% by weight SiO₂, the balance being clay. 4. A catalyst as claimed in claim 2 or 3, cha­ racterised in that the zeolite is RE ion-­ exchanged zeolite USY. 5. A catalyst as claimed in claim 1, charac­ terised in that the catalyst comprises 10-60% of RE ion-exchanged zeolite USY, 1-10% by weight alumina, and 1-20% by weight SiO₂, the balance being clay. 6. A catalyst as claimed in claim 5, charac­ terised in that the catalyst comprises 40-60% of RE ion-exchanged zeolite USY, 5-10% by weight alu­ mina, and 2-5% by weight SiO₂, the balance being clay. 7. A catalyst as claimed in any one of claims 3-6, characterised in that SiO₂ has been added as water glass or silica sol. 8. A catalyst as claimed in any one of claims 1-7, characterised in that the clay is attapulgite, halloysite, sepiolite or chrysotile, or mixtures thereof. 9. A catalyst as claimed in claims 4-8,cha­ racterised in that it has been formed of 50% by weight of RE ion-exchanged zeolite USY, 10% alumina, 3% SiO₂ as water glass, and 37% attapulgite. 10. A catalyst as claimed in any one of claims 1-4 and 7-9, characterised in that it has been formed from 5-30% by weight vanadium pentoxide, the balance being a mixture of 27% zeolite USY, 10% alumina, 3% SiO₂ as water glass, and 60% clay, prefer­ ably attapulgite in mixture with halloysite. 11. A method for purifying flue gases from nitrogen oxides, in which method the flue gases are conducted through or contacted with a catalyst as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, at a temperature of 275-400°C. 12. A method as claimed in claim 11, charac­ terised in that the temperature is 300-400°C. 13. A method as claimed in claim 11 or 12, cha­ racterised in that flue gases are conducted through or contacted with the catalyst at a gas hourly space velocity of at least 7500 h-1. 14. A method as claimed in claim 13, charac­ terised in that the gas hourly space velocity is at least 10000 h-1. 15. A method as claimed in any one of claims 12-14, characterised in that the exhaust gases are conducted through or contacted with the catalyst in the presence of ammonia.

Inventors: JAERAS, SVEN GUNNAR, JOHANSSON, KERSTIN ELISABET, LIVRELL, NILS JONNY, TAPPER, HANS KENNY, Järas, Sven Gunnar
Applicants: EKA NOBEL AKTIEBOLAG
Application year: 1986
Main classification: B01J29
IPC codes: B01D53, B01J29