Reactive collisions of sulfur dioxide with molten carbonates
- 1 February 2010
- journal article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Vol. 107 (15), 6622-6627
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0910993107
Abstract
Molecular beam scattering experiments are used to investigate reactions of SO(2) at the surface of a molten alkali carbonate eutectic at 683 K. We find that two-thirds of the SO(2) molecules that thermalize at the surface of the melt are converted to gaseous CO(2) via the reaction SO(2)(g) + CO(3)(2-) --> CO(2)(g) + SO(3)(-2). The CO(2) product is formed from SO(2) in less than 10(-6) s, implying that the reaction takes place in a shallow liquid region less than 100 A deep. The reaction probability does not vary between 683 and 883 K, further implying a compensation between decreasing SO(2) residence time in the near-interfacial region and increasing reactivity at higher temperatures. These results demonstrate the remarkable efficiency of SO(2) --> CO(2) conversion by molten carbonates, which appear to be much more reactive than dry calcium carbonate or wet slurries commonly used for flue gas desulfurization in coal-burning power plants.Keywords
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