How to Improve the Stability and Life of Carbon Monoxide Catalysts?

In industrial and automobile exhaust treatment applications, the stability and life of carbon monoxide catalysts directly impact environmental efficiency and business costs. If a catalyst is susceptible to failure due to sulfur poisoning or high-temperature sintering, it not only requires frequent replacement but also leads to excessive CO emissions.

A steel plant previously used a traditional platinum-based carbon monoxide catalyst to treat blast furnace gas. Due to the H₂S content and high temperatures, the catalyst failed after only three months due to sulfur poisoning and particle sintering, necessitating high replacement costs. Technical improvements subsequently extended the catalyst's lifespan to 12 months: first, rhodium was added to the platinum active component to form a platinum-rhodium alloy, enhancing sulfur resistance; second, a honeycomb alumina support was used instead of the particle support to reduce particle agglomeration at high temperatures. After the modification, the CO removal rate remained stable at over 95%, demonstrating the effectiveness of the improved approach.

There are three core methods for extending the lifespan of carbon monoxide catalysts:

Active component modification: Adding rare earth elements (cerium, lanthanum) to precious metals (platinum, palladium), or optimizing non-precious metal catalysts with copper-manganese composite oxides. For example, in automobile exhaust three-way catalytic converters, the addition of cerium improves resistance to high-temperature sintering, extending the catalyst's lifespan from 80,000 kilometers to 120,000 kilometers. Pretreatment and operating condition control: Industrial exhaust gas is first subjected to a desulfurization unit to remove H₂S to prevent catalyst poisoning. Simultaneously, the reaction temperature is controlled within the "activity window" to prevent high temperatures from damaging the catalyst structure. Using this approach, a chemical plant has extended its catalyst replacement cycle from six months to 18 months.

Carrier optimization and upgrade: High-temperature-resistant carriers with high surface area are selected to reduce carbon deposits and particle agglomeration. For example, the lifespan of the ambient-temperature catalyst in a home CO alarm has been extended from one year to three years using a porous silica carrier.

These methods effectively address the vulnerability of CO catalysts to failure, reducing operational and maintenance costs while ensuring compliance with environmental standards. Whether in industrial or civilian applications, targeted catalyst performance optimization is key to improving cost-effectiveness.

author: Hazel
date: 2025-10-27