Utilization of electrochemical treatment and surface reconstruction to achieve long lasting catalyst for NOx removal

The development of catalysts has seen tremendous growth recently but most strategies only report utilization of catalysts for a few initial cycles without taking into account the influence of oxygen poisoning. Here, the magnetic Fe3O4@EDTA-Fe (MEFe, having a core Fe3O4 particle with EDTA-Fe coating) was investigated as a model catalyst for long-term recycling for the removal of nitrogen oxide (NOx) from NO/O-2 mixture, followed by N2O recovery. The concentration of oxygen in the flue gas was found to have a strong impact on NO,, absorption and catalytic response. To circumvent the oxygen poisoning, the MEFe was subjected to electrochemical treatment in the presence of neutral red (N.R.) and NO removal efficiency was 95 % noted. Furthermore, the surface of the catalyst degraded significantly (p < 0.05) after 6-7 repetitive cycling due to surface catalytic reactions, surface poisoning, oxidation of metallic species as well as residual stresses. The MEFe surface was reconstructed after 7 cycles using EDTA solution and Fe source to achieve similar surface coating as the fresh MEFe catalyst. The reconstructed MEFe exhibited similar NOx absorption capability as the fresh MEFe and the reconstruction loop was repeated several times to achieve long term cycling, which make the catalyst cost-effective. Hence, it is proposed that a successful regeneration process can be employed for promising, sustainable and long-lasting catalytic treatment of air pollutants.

Automated summary

The study used magnetic Fe3O4@EDTA-Fe as a model catalyst for long-term removal of nitrogen oxide, successfully achieving regeneration through electrochemical treatment and surface reconstruction.