Flue gas denitration performance of the semicoke sorbent

Semicoke-based sorbent for flue gas cleaning was prepared from wasted semicoke material with nitric acid activation and high temperature treatment. The denitration performance of this sorbent was investigated under different simulated flue gases using a tubular reactor. The results showed that the sorbent had a good denitration capacity and efficiency. The surface physicochemical properties of the sorbent were analyzed by BET (Brunauer Emmett and Teller), transmission electron microscope, and Temperature Programmed Desorption. Heat treatment and nitric acid activation could enlarge the surface area and the pore volume obviously. Experiments with different adsorptive concentrations show that oxygen in flue gas played a positive role in nitrogen oxides removing progress, while the existence of water vapor and sulfur dioxide in flue gas had some negative influences. Heat treatment and nitric acid activation could result in great change of the surface physicochemical properties and increase the adsorption performance of the wasted semicoke material. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 34: 394–400, 2015