Abstract
Carbon xerogels were prepared by the polycondensation of resorcinol and formaldehyde using three different solution pH values and the gels were carbonized at three different temperatures. Results show that it is possible to tailor the pore texture of carbon xerogels by adjusting the pH of the initial solution and the carbonization temperature. Materials with different textural properties were obtained and used as catalysts for NO oxidation at room temperature. The NO conversions obtained with carbon xerogels were quite high, showing that carbon xerogels are efficient catalysts for NO oxidation. A maximum of 98% conversion for NO was obtained at initial concentration of NO of 1000 ppm and 10% of O2. The highest NO conversions were obtained with the samples presenting the highest surface areas. The temperature of reaction has a strong influence on NO oxidation: the conversion of NO decreases with the increase of reaction temperature.
Highlights
The emission of nitrogen oxides in fuel combustion from stationary sources—primarily from power stations, industrial heaters and cogeneration plants [1]—represents a major environmental problem.NOx is blamed for the formation of ozone in the troposphere [2], the production of acid rains and respiratory problems to mankind [3,4,5].Combustion modification and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) methods are probably the most widely used techniques for the control of NOx emissions [1,6]
It is noticeable that the textural properties of carbon xerogels were affected by the synthesis pH and by the carbonization temperature
The isotherms are typical of materials with micro and mesoporosity, except in the case of xerogels synthesized at pH = 6.9, which show very little or no microporosity
Summary
The emission of nitrogen oxides in fuel combustion from stationary sources—primarily from power stations, industrial heaters and cogeneration plants [1]—represents a major environmental problem. The textural and structural properties of carbon xerogels can be controlled according to the synthesis and processing conditions (e.g., pH of preparation, drying conditions and carbonization temperature); the main advantage of carbon xerogels is the possibility for tailoring their properties to fit specific applications [18,19,20,21,22,23]. For this reason, carbon xerogels are used in a wide range of applications, including catalysis [24,25], adsorption [26,27] and energy storage [28,29,30]. The influence of the textural and chemical properties of carbon xerogels on NO removal efficiency will be evaluated
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
