Synthesis of CuO/SBA-15 adsorbents for SOx removal applications, using different impregnation methods

In this paper, SBA-15 mesoporous silica based adsorbents were synthesized for the desulfurization of flue gas streams, by several methods (wet impregnation, incipient wetness impregnation and ion exchange). The influence of the drying and calcination conditions on the porous texture and the dispersion of the active phase (CuO), as well as the efficiency of the adsorbents for SO trapping, were studied. Depending on the synthesis conditions, copper species are present as large CuO particles (1 mu m) and/or as homogeneously dispersed species, undetectable by XRD/TEM. The SOx adsorption efficiency seems to be closely related to the undetected copper species. (C) 2015 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.