Study on regeneration and texture of a mid-temperature zinc oxide desulfurizer

The effects of temperature and O2concentration on the regeneration performance of a commercial mid-temperature zinc oxide desulfurizer were investigated with second cycle sulfuration experiment conducted in a fixed bed reactor, and the fresh and regenerative desulfurizers were characterized by TPO, XRD and BET. The results showed that 600℃ was most suitable for the regeneration of the desulfurizer in air with a good second cycle sulfur sorption capacity; the texture of the regenerative desulfurizer mightily affected its desulfurization performance; the incomplete regeneration was attributed to the formation of some sulfate; and the regeneration of the desulfurizer at 600℃ in the air reduced the volume of the pores of above 10nm apparently but hardly affected the micropores of below 10nm, which resulted in a slight decrease of the specific surface area and pore volume.