Fabrication and Performance of xMnyCe/Hexagonal Mesoporous Silica Sorbents with Wormhole-Like Framework for Hot Coal Gas Desulfurization

Abstract

A series of xMnyCe/hexagonal mesoporous silica (HMS) sorbents with wormhole-like structure was prepared by a sol–gel method, and their performance for hot coal gas desulfurization was investigated at 600 °C. All xMnyCe/HMS sorbents exhibited high breakthrough sulfur capacity, and the utilization of these sorbents was much higher than that of 10Mn/HMS. The breakthrough sulfur capacity over 4Mn1Ce/HMS sorbents was 121.7 mg of S/g of sorbent with the utilization of 82.4%. Such a behavior was maintained in eight consecutive desulfurization–regeneration cycles. The effects of the desulfurization temperature, H2 concentration, and 7% steam on the performance of 4Mn1Ce/HMS were examined. The fresh, used, and regenerated samples were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption, Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy techniques. The results confirmed that the manganese oxide was dispersed highly on the HMS support because of the syner...