H2S-selective catalytic oxidation at high temperatures
is a cost-effective way to directly treat lean acid gas. Herein, cerium
supported on a β-SiC catalyst was synthesized by
a simple impregnation method, and the catalytic behavior for the H2S-selective oxidation reaction was evaluated at a relatively
high-temperature range (300–550 °C). The 10%CeO2/β-SiC catalyst exhibited excellent H2S conversion (93%) and outstanding sulfur selectivity (94%) at 300
°C and could maintain it at 82 and 87%, respectively, even at
temperatures up to 550 °C. Remarkably, the catalyst revealed
prominent reaction stability, which could proceed consecutively at
550 °C for 30 h and could also run circularly from 300 to 550
°C three times without notable deactivation. This demonstrated
that the β-SiC support allowed good dispersion
of CeO2 particles, which further improved the reducibility
of the 10%CeO2/β-SiC catalyst. Furthermore,
the abundant oxygen vacancies on the catalyst surface facilitated
O2 activation by providing a large amount of surface adsorbed
oxygen and by improving the lattice oxygen mobility. Particularly,
the high thermal stability of the β-SiC support
displayed a significant role in high-temperature reactions, and the
strong Ce–O–Si interaction between the β-SiC support and the CeO2 phase allowed the catalyst
a good resistance to SO2 poisoning. This work provides
a prospective way for the treatment of lean acid gas.