Comparative study of the effect of vanadium and sulfate on the performance of molybdenum-titanium co-pillared clay for selective catalytic reduction of no by ammonia

A series of vanadium supported on molybdenum and titanium co-pillared montmorillonite, for use in the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO by ammonia, were prepared and characterized with different technique. The surface properties of the samples were compared to the support prepared in absence and in presence of sulphate groups. The catalysts are porous solids and the support (MoTi-PILC) prepared in absence of sulfate shows highest surface area and number of acid sites. The experimental results showed that the addition of different amount of vanadium to the support affects the textural, acid and redox properties as well as the NO removal efficiency for the selective catalytic reduction of NO by ammonia. However, the best catalytic activity is obtained for MoTi-PILC which is correlated to the highest acid sites of this catalyst. The excellent performance of MoTi-PILC is attributed to the combination of the better porous structure, the good dispersion of the actives phases mainly arising by molybdenum species well dispersed on the high surface area and to the appropriate blend of redox with acid sites.