Catalyst Test Facility - Southern Research
Southern Research offers bench-scale facilities for catalyst testing. The Catalyst Test Facility (CTF) has been designed to simulate a myriad of flue-gas conditions and treatment processes. The facility is extremely versatile, offering an initial alternative to pilot- or full-scale testing at a fraction of the cost.
The flexibility of design, ease of operation, and exacting control of conditions allows for the efficient acquisition of data at multiple, highly-controlled conditions. This allows for transient and steady-state behavior to be assessed with a high degree of accuracy at minimum cost. The facility is ideal for bench-scale simulation of various catalytic and non-catalytic processes and is uniquely suited to isolate particular process effects that would be difficult or impossible to investigate at larger scale.
Quartz Reactor - Southern Research
Of special interest is the facility's capability of simulating the Selective Catalyst Reduction (SCR) process and the ability to measure mercury speciation across the catalyst with an in situ Hg-monitoring system. Catalyst and sorbent performance testing, development, and troubleshooting are all viewed as major focus areas for investigations using this test facility. In addition, SCR-related effects, such as ammonia adsorption on fly ash, SO2 oxidation, and mercury speciation are all being investigated.
In conclusion, the facility will support many of the research interests related to environmental controls currently important to power and process industries. The facility represents a valuable part of the suite of test facilities available for research and development at Southern Research, and we are pleased to be able to offer it to our customers.
Some specific operating capabilities and potential research areas applicable to the facility follow.
| Routinely-Simulated Flue gas Constituents | N2, O2, CO2, H2O, SO2, NO, HCI |
| Specialty Flue Gas Constituents | NH3, Hg, SO3, H2, C3H8, CO, NO2, others as needed |
| Flue Gas Flow Rate | up to 5 liters/minute |
| Reactor Temperature | up to 2,000°F |
| Reactor Chamber Size | 3 in. diameter (max.) by 24 in. length |
| Heated Zones (individually Controlled) | 9 |
Quartz and Pyrex reactors for testing powder, plate and block-type catalysts
For more detailed information on the test facility and to discuss how Southern Research can help address your research needs, contact Dr. Thomas Gale at gale@southernresearch.org.
Catalyst Test Facility
Catalyst Development Laboratory