Mercury oxidation by hydrochloric acid over a VOx/TiO2 catalyst

The effects of VOx loading in a VOx/TiO2 catalyst on mercury oxidation activity by hydrochloric acid were examined by infrared spectroscopy (DRIFT) and Hg-0 oxidation measurement. Vanadium oxide added to the catalyst was found to be well dispersed over the TiO2 carrier up to the point of monolayer VOx coverage. The activity of Hg-0 oxidation increased almost linearly with VOx loading below the monolayer capacity. Both monomeric and polymeric vanadyl sites were found to be active for Hg-0 oxidation, which suggests that Hg-0 oxidation activity of the VCx/TiO2 catalyst is not affected by the density of VOx site on the catalyst surface. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.