Development of copper-on-alumina catalytic materials for the cleanup of flue gas and the disposal of diluted ammonium sulfate solutions

Some aspects of the industrial development of copper-on-alumina catalytic materials for the combined removal of SO₂ (DeSO_x and NO_x (DeNO_x) from flue gas of power plants are discussed. Applications of these catalytic materials for the recovery of sulfuric acid from diluted aqueous solutions of ammonium sulfate are also outlined. In particular, the following specific topics are analyzed: (i) the relationship between textural and reactivity properties. (ii) the problem of the design of samples with improved DeSO_x properties in relation to the stability of the samples over extended operations, and (iii) the optimization of the regeneration characteristics of the samples. Details on the flow sheet of the technology are also given.