Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO with Fatty Acid Methyl Ester as Reductant over Ag/Al₂O₃ Catalyst

Abstract

Selective reduction of NO using fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) as the reducing agents was investigated over 3 wt% Ag/Al₂O₃ catalyst. NO reduction with C₆-C₁₄ saturated FAMEs showed volcano-type temperature dependence, as NO reduction started at around 250°C, reached the maximum at around 400°C, and then decreased at higher temperatures. NO reduction efficiency increased slightly as the fatty acid chain length decreased. The efficiency of saturated FAME for selective catalytic reduction is superior to that of the corresponding unsaturated FAME. The catalysts showed stable activity at temperatures above 350°C, but deactivated with time due to coking below 300°C. The performance of selective NO reduction with saturated FAME was roughly equal to that with n-decane and n-hexadecane.