Mixed iron-erbium vanadate NH3-SCR catalysts

A series of SCR catalysts of mixed iron-erbium vanadates supported on TiO2-WO3-SiO2 were prepared and their reduction, textural, structural and morphological properties characterized by temperature programmed reduction, X-ray powder diffraction, B.E.T. methods and transmission electron microscopy. The influence of Fe/Er ratio in the vanadate as well as the effect of aging conditions on their activity in ammonia SCR reaction was investigated. SCR activity at medium/low temperature was found to correlate directly with the Fe loading of the catalyst, with supported FeVO4 resulting the most active material. This behavior might be correlated with the characteristics of Fe3+-O-V5+ bond and the acidity of the V-O moiety. Supported FeVO4 suffers a strong deactivation following thermal aging due to rutile formation in TiO2-based support and consequent collapse of surface area. The effect of Er is that of blocking transformation to rutile, thus enhancing activity after thermal treatment. Mixed composition FexEr1-xVO4 with x = 0.5 represents the best compromise between activity and stability and are potential candidates for deNO(x) process when a higher stability is requested. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.