Mechanistic and Kinetic Study of Tetrabutylammonium Bromide for Facilitating NO2 Absorption in Sulfite Solutions with Inhibition of O2–Induced Oxidation

An innovative strategy in wet flue gas denitration technology was proposed to control nitrogen oxide emissions from cement kiln. Here the use of tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) as an additive improved the absorption and utilization efficiency of sulfite absorbents for NO2. Compared with the sulfite solution, the stability time and absorption efficiency of adding TBAB were increased from 25 to 76 min and from 91.2 to 98.4%, respectively. Continuous absorption for 480 min indicated the feasibility of TBAB for repeated use. Moreover, we propose an antioxidant mechanism, including the capture of SO3•– by TBA+, and the reduction of SO3•– by Br–. The successive steps kept the sulfite from the cyclic depletion of the radical chain reaction of “Generate SO3•–-Introducing O2–Consuming SO32–” due to O2. A new application of TBAB in free radical trapping and antioxidant is given. Furthermore, a kinetic model describing the macroscopic absorption rate was developed based on different operating conditions.