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Catalytic hydrolysis of gaseous HCN over Cu–Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalyst: parameters and conditions

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Abstract

To decompose efficiently hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in exhaust gas, g-Al2O3-supported bimetallicbased Cu–Ni catalyst was prepared by incipient-wetness impregnation method. The effects of the calcination temperature, H2O/HCN volume ratio, reaction temperature, and the presence of CO or O2 on the HCN removal efficiency on the Cu–Ni/g-Al2O3 catalyst were investigated. To examine further the efficiency of HCN hydrolysis, degradation products were analyzed. The results indicate that the HCN removal efficiency increases and then decreases with increasing calcination temperature and H2O/HCN volume ratio. On catalyst calcined at 400°C, the efficiency reaches a maximum close to 99% at 480 min at a H2O/HCN volume ratio of 150. The HCN removal efficiency increases with increasing reaction temperature within the range of 100°C–500°C and reaches a maximum at 500°C. This trend may be attributed to the endothermicity of HCN hydrolysis; increasing the temperature favors HCN hydrolysis. However, the removal efficiencies increases very few at 500°C compared with that at 400°C. To conserve energy in industrial operations, 400°C is deemed as the optimal reaction temperature. The presence of CO facilitates HCN hydrolysis andincreases NH3 production. O2 substantially increases the HCN removal efficiency and NO x production but decreases NH3 production.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China

    Linxia Yan, Senlin Tian, Jian Zhou & Xin Yuan

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  1. Linxia Yan
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  2. Senlin Tian
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  3. Jian Zhou
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  4. Xin Yuan
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Correspondence to Senlin Tian.

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Yan, L., Tian, S., Zhou, J. et al. Catalytic hydrolysis of gaseous HCN over Cu–Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalyst: parameters and conditions. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 10, 5 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-016-0872-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-016-0872-8

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