A study of supported molybdenum catalysts for the reduction of SO₂ with CH₄: Effect of sulphidation method

Abstract

Abstract An experimental investigation of the effect of sulphidation method of supported molybdenum catalysts used in the reduction of SO 2 with Ch 4 was carried out. Two sulphidation methods, one using H 2 S and the other using a mixture of SO 2 /CH 4 , are compared. The methods are evalauted with respect to molybdenum retention, extent of molybdenum sulphidation, and catalytic activity. Mo/Al 2 O 3 catalysts sulphided with H 2 S are superior to those sulphided under SO 2 and CH 4 reaction conditions. Although complete sulphidation is never achieved in either of the two cases, the higher activity found with H 2 S‐sulphided catalysts is attributed to a higher degree of molybdenum sulphidation resulting in a higher MoS 2 content. The 15% Mo/Al 2 O 3 catalyst sulphided with H 2 S at 600°C showed the highest activity and had the highest MoS 2 content.