Metals (Mar 2023)

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

  • Xudong Liu,
  • Xiaoyang Wang,
  • Jiaqi Long,
  • Xiaofeng Xie,
  • Lin Wu,
  • Zhujiang Wang,
  • Yingxue Fu,
  • Hao Chen,
  • Kaisong Xiang,
  • Hui Liu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/met13030569
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 3
p. 569

Abstract

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Resource utilization of SO2 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 (S0), which has a high market demand and is a current focus in the field of SO2 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 SO2 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 SO2 to S0, achieving a selectivity of 83% at pH = 0.25 and E = −0.8 V (vs. SCE).

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