Removal of HCl, SO₂, and NO by treatment of acid gas with Mg-Al oxide slurry

Although effective treatment of acid gases such as HCl, SO_x, and NO_x is essential for preventing air pollution, current methods pose other environmental problems such as CaCl₂ leaching, reduced landfill lifetimes, and solid waste production. Here we show that acid gases can be treated simply with a Mg-Al oxide slurry. The contribution of Mg-Al oxide to HCl and SO₂ removal increased as a function of the quantity and temperature of Mg-Al oxide. HCl was removed by the reconstruction of Mg-Al layered double hydroxide (Mg-Al LDH) intercalated with Cl^- dissociated from HCl in the slurry. SO₂ was oxidized into SO₃ by oxygen in the air flow, dissolved in an aqueous solution, and removed by the reconstruction of Mg-Al LDH intercalated with dissociated SO₄²- Although less pronounced because of surface adsorption, NO was nonetheless removed by Mg-Al oxide. Our results suggest that simultaneous removal of HCl, SO₂, and NO using a Mg-Al oxide slurry may be possible without the concomitant problems of conventional treatment methods.