Research on the Selective Electrocatalytic Reduction of SO<sub>2</sub> to Recover S<sup>0</sup> by Pb Electrode

Resource utilization of SO<sub>2</sub> from flue gas is a key challenge for the green development of the smelting industry. Recovery of sulfur resources in the form of elemental sulfur (S<sup>0</sup>), which has a high market demand and is a current focus in the field of SO&l...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xudong Liu, Xiaoyang Wang, Jiaqi Long, Xiaofeng Xie, Lin Wu, Zhujiang Wang, Yingxue Fu, Hao Chen, Kaisong Xiang, Hui Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-03-01
Series:Metals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/13/3/569
Description
Summary:Resource utilization of SO<sub>2</sub> from flue gas is a key challenge for the green development of the smelting industry. Recovery of sulfur resources in the form of elemental sulfur (S<sup>0</sup>), which has a high market demand and is a current focus in the field of SO<sub>2</sub> treatment, can reduce the solid waste from desulfurization. In this study, it was found that Pb as a cathode material had good catalytic activity for the electrochemical reduction of SO<sub>2</sub> and good selectivity towards elemental sulfur. However, the cathode suffers from sulfur poisoning. The problem was resolved by introducing surfactant, specifically sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), which significantly lowered the sulfur content ratio on the surface of the electrode from 31.82% to 2.17%. Through the optimization of electrocatalytic parameters, this method enables efficient conversion of SO<sub>2</sub> to S<sup>0</sup>, achieving a selectivity of 83% at pH = 0.25 and E = −0.8 <i>V (vs. SCE)</i>.
ISSN:2075-4701