Chemically Active Aerogels for Hot Gas Clean-up in a Igcc Process

To aid the development of IGCC technologies, the unique properties of aerogels were exploited to research purifying systems for H2S, NO, and Hg that are durable and efficient. Aerogels can be used to capture hot gases based on their high surface areas and great tendency to form composites with various other sorbents or structural supports. Silica aerogels are at the heart of the study. Sol-gel synthesis achieved chemically active silica aerogels which were used as structural supports for diverse catalysts depending on the type of gases. Carbon aerogels are also included, focusing mainly on H2S (8) sorption. Varying the nanoand microstructure of the aerogels and supported metal catalysts further aids in the hydrogenation of C02 and selective catalytic reduction of NO,. Among the sol-gel compositc materials applied in this study, those being composed of both organic and inorganic components (organic-inorganic hybrid composites) are observed to have particularly strong affinities for mercury thereby achieving an effective mercury control.