Microwave Plasma Enhanced Reduction of SO_2 to Sulfur with Carbon

摘要

The emission of SO_2 from industrial flue gas contributes to a large part of atmospheric pollution. With the more stringent regulations for SO_2 emission, more efficient technologies for SO_2 removal have to be developed. In the present work, we for the first time employed microwave plasma to reduce SO_2 with three carbons (activated carbon, charcoal, and coke). At a microwave power of 110 W, SO_2 can be completely reduced to sulfur by the activated carbon. The reactivity of the three carbons followed the order of activated carbon > charcoal > coke, which was consistent with that under conventional heating. However, much lower temperatures were required to obtain the same percentage conversion of SO_2 under microwave plasma than that under conventional heating. Furthermore, in the presence of O_2 in the feed gas, SO_2 can also be efficiently reduced with carbons under the microwave plasma.