Transient kinetic analysis of the standard SCR reduction half cycle on Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts: Roles of temperature, hydrothermal aging and H2O feed content

Transient Response Methods (TRM) are applied to investigate the reduction half-cycle (RHC) of the Standard SCR reaction over a state-of-the-art Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst at temperatures ranging from 135 to 350°C. We assess the effects of hydrothermal aging (HTA), water feed content and temperature on the reaction redox chemistry. By testing three samples with different aging levels, we reveal the CuII reduction rate to be unaffected by HTA in the whole T-range under investigation. Kinetic analysis assesses the inhibiting role of water on the RHC, consistent with literature. As long as enough NH3 is stored on the catalyst surface, reduction transients are accurately predicted assuming a second-order dependence of the reduction rate on the copper(II) fraction, also at temperatures exceeding 200°C. Remarkably, under wet conditions the low-T CuII reduction mechanism remains the same at least up to 300°C.