The samples of MnOx/TiO2 catalysts supported on cordierite honeycomb ceramics were prepared by a sol-gel-impregnation method, and evaluated for low-temperature (353-473 K) selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH3. The influences of pretreatment on cordierite and catalyst dosage were investigated at first and optimized as follows: pickling for cordierite honeycomb ceramics with 1 mol/L HNO3 for 3 h prior to loading procedure as well as the catalyst dosage of 3-5 wt.%. The activity results indicated that there was an optimum working condition for MnOx/TiO2/cordierite catalysts: NH3/NO molar ratio=1.1, [O2]=3 vol.%, GHSV=5514 h-1, the highest activity of nearly 100% NO conversion could be obtained. As a comparison, the performances of commercialized vanadium-based honeycomb catalyst were also employed, which revealed the narrower scope of application of GHSV and the higher active temperature window. In conclusion, it turns out that the prepared MnOx/TiO2/cordierite catalysts are more applicable as a low-temperature SCR catalyst for NOx removal in a more complicated application environment.
