Oxidation Macrokinetics of Sulfite in the Zinc-Based Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization Process
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 2
Abstract
The zinc oxide method is one of the most popular flue gas desulfurization processes, especially for the control of low-content sulfur dioxide. In this process, zinc sulfite can be oxidized to form a soluble zinc sulfate, which can solve the problems of scale formation and pipe plugging. This paper aims to study the oxidation kinetics of zinc sulfite in the zinc-based wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) process by varying the zinc sulfite concentration, initial pH, oxygen partial pressure, temperature, stirring speed, gas flow rate, and particle size. The oxidation results indicate that there is a critical sulfite concentration of 7.5%, below which the reaction rate is 0.32 order dependence from sulfite, while above which the order turns to . Meanwhile, the reaction rate is 1.0 order in the oxygen partial pressure. The initial pH and particle size have little effect on the oxidation rate, while the oxidation rate increases with the stirring speed, gas flow rate, and temperature. Moreover, the apparent activation energy is calculated to be . Integrated with the kinetic model, it is concluded that the oxidation rate of zinc sulfite is controlled by the mass transfer of oxygen in the liquid phase.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Fund Committee (U1402271, 51874078, and U1760120) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (N182504018).
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 2 • February 2021
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 2, 2020
Accepted: Jul 29, 2020
Published online: Nov 25, 2020
Published in print: Feb 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Apr 25, 2021
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