Synergetic NOx Removal and Hg⁰ Oxidation over V₂O₅–WO₃/TiO₂ Catalysts in a Simulated Fast SCR Atmosphere: Catalytic Performance and Hg⁰ Oxidation Mechanism

Fast selective catalytic reduction (SCR) atmosphere can significantly improve the NOx removal activity of VWTi catalysts, while the catalytic performance and reaction pathway of Hg0 oxidation in a fast SCR atmosphere are still unclear. In this paper, the catalytic activity of simultaneous NOx removal and Hg0 oxidation over VWTi catalysts in a simulated fast SCR atmosphere was investigated for the first time. The results showed that VWTi catalysts possessed a wide NOx removal active temperature window and a high Hg0 oxidation activity in a fast SCR atmosphere. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Hg temperature-programmed desorption (Hg-TPD) methods were used to investigate the Hg0 oxidation process over VWTi catalysts in a fast SCR atmosphere. Combined with the homogeneous Hg0 oxidation experiment results, two domination reaction routes of Hg0 oxidation over VWTi catalysts in a fast SCR atmosphere were proposed. One was that the adsorbed Hg0 could react with the surface active species to form HgO. The other reaction route was a gaseous homogeneous route that the gaseous Hg0 could be oxidized directly to Hg(NO3)2 by gaseous NO2. Particularly, the gaseous homogeneous Hg0 oxidation process could notably weaken the inhibition effect of NH3 on Hg0 oxidation, thus improving the Hg0 oxidation activity of VWTi catalysts in a fast SCR atmosphere.