Part of a multistage treatment system, the LBL process treats concentrated sulfur dioxide, converting more than 95 percent of it to a valuable commodity. It generates elemental sulfur, a chemical feedstock that can be sold.
Cost is the overriding factor affecting the success of emissions treatment technology.
A number of effective technologies have been developed to treat fossil fuel emissions prior to venting them into the atmosphere. However, due to the cost, most of the world's power plants do not significantly treat exhaust gases. Likewise, utilities often elect not to burn abundant fuels such as coal, which have a relatively high sulfur content, because of the expense of removing sulfur dioxide. The process relies on the team's invention, a new catalyst for which a patent is pending. We have tested it in the laboratory over a lifetime of 1080 hours and the catalytic activity is very stable.