Review on NH3-SCR for simultaneous abating NOx and VOCs in industrial furnaces: Catalysts' composition, mechanism, deactivation and regeneration

To address the multiple air pollution problems, the simultaneous abatement of NOx and VOCs in the existing NH3-SCR units has attracted considerable environmental attention. Although this method has lowered costs, saved space and facilitated manufacturing, its practical use is still constrained by various uncertainties, such as catalyst properties, reactant interactions, etc. Hence, this paper reviews the progress of research on the simultaneous abatement of NOx and VOCs from industrial furnaces using SCR technology in recent decades. Firstly, the effectiveness of various catalysts for the synergistic removing multiple-pollutant and various methods for changing the catalyst properties are evaluated. It is worth noting that NOx reduction and VOCs oxidation inevitably interact with each other, therefore the interaction mechanism of multiple reactants and the influence of reaction conditions on the synergistic removal efficiency are then discussed in detail. Additionally, the mechanism of catalyst deactivation in the presence of heavy metal, chloride, etc. and the corresponding regeneration methods are proposed. Finally, some recommendations regarding potential future investigative directions are given. Hopefully, this review can build a bridge between newly modified SCR catalysts and the transformation from single pollutant to synergistic multi-pollutant elimination, allowing for the commercial applications in the near future. [Display omitted] •Simultaneously abating NOx and VOCs by using SCR technology was fully reviewed.•Various SCR catalysts for synergistic pollutant removal were thoroughly analyzed.•The interactions between NOx reduction and VOCs oxidation were discussed in detail.•The catalyst deactivation and the corresponding regeneration method were concluded.•Challenges and prospects of synergistic multi-pollutant elimination were proposed.