Physical and Chemical Characterisation of Potassium Deactivation of an SCR Catalyst for Biomass Combustion

The deactivation of a commercial Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalyst, of V2O5−WO3/TiO2 type, has been studied through comparisons with results from a full-scale biomass combustion plant to that with laboratory experiments. In the latter, the catalyst was exposed to KCl and K2SO4 by both wet impregnation with diluted salt solutions and deposition of generated submicrometer aerosol particles by means of an electrostatic field. The reactivity of fresh and deactivated samples was examined in the SCR reaction. Chemical and physical characterizations were focusing on internal structures and chemical composition. Deposition of submicrometer sized particles on the monolithic SCR catalyst was shown to induce deactivation with characteristics resembling those obtained in a commercial biomass combustion plant.