RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOLOGICAL

Box 11.2 Desulfurization processes to limit SO2 emissions

Current awareness of the effects of environmental pollution has been instrumental in the
development of desulfurization processes; this includes desulfurization of fossil fuels and flue
gases from a variety of sources. The aim in a flue gas desulfurization process, for example, is to
optimize the removal of SO2 from emissions into the atmosphere. One important method of
desulfurization in commercial operation throughout the world is based upon the neutralization
reactions between Ca(OH)2 or CaCO3 and sulfuric acid. Flue gases containing SO2 are passed
through absorbers containing slaked lime or limestone. The reactions occurring are:

SO2 H2O H HSO3__

H HSO3__ 1
2O2 __" 2H SO4_2_
2H SO4_2_ CaOH2 __" CaSO4_2H2O
or
2H SO4_2_ H2O CaCO3 __" CaSO4_2H2O CO2

An advantage of the system is that CaSO4_2H2O, gypsum, is non-toxic and is not a waste
product; it has a number of commercial applications, for example in the production of plaster of
Paris (see Section 11.7) and cement.
In an alternative desulfurization process, NH3 replaces Ca(OH)2 or CaCO3 and the final
sulfur-containing product is [NH4]2[SO4]. Again, the sulfur is removed in the form of a
commercially desirable chemical, since [NH4]2[SO4] has applications as a fertilizer.

For related information: see Box 15.5 and Box 22.6.

Further reading
D. Stirling (2000) The Sulfur Problem: Cleaning Up Industrial
Feedstocks, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge.