Depositing Cs-Co3O4 on Ceramic Foam Fosters Industrial N2O Decomposition Catalysis

N2O emissions exacerbate the greenhouse effect, urgently demanding advances in abatement technologies. Catalytic decomposition of N2O over cobalt-based oxides with alkali metal promoters remains challenging because these catalysts are used in pelletized form, limiting their activity to a narrow outer-shell region due to internal diffusion limitations. However, research efforts continue to focus on enhancing Co–alkali metal contact on unsupported powder samples under inert conditions, even though, under industrial conditions, catalysts are exposed to inhibitory components of waste gases and N2O, and the powder form is unsuitable for practical application. This study aims at testing N2O decomposition over catalysts with a Co3O4-Cs active phase supported on a ceramic foam. For this purpose, we characterized these catalysts by H2 temperature-programmed reduction, H2O and NO temperature-programmed desorption, atomic absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction and assessed their catalytic performance under an inert-gas atmosphere and with O2, water vapor, and NO to simulate industrial conditions. Using a pseudo-homogeneous, one-dimensional model of an ideal plug flow reactor in an isothermal regime, the simulation calculations for a full-scale catalytic reactor for N2O abatement in waste gas from HNO3 production were performed. The Cs2CO3 precursor significantly enhanced catalyst reducibility and electron transferability, increasing N2O decomposition efficiency in inert gas, but its high hygroscopicity decreased resistance to water vapor and NO, overriding its advantages under industrial conditions. Conversely, glycerol-assisted impregnation enhanced catalyst performance regardless of Cs precursor. These foam-supported catalysts offered several other advantages, including lower pressure drop and lower active phase loading with matching catalytic activity. Based on our findings, depositing Cs2CO3 on ceramic foam through glycerol-assisted impregnation may facilitate catalytic N2O decomposition at the industrial level and, therefore, promote environmental sustainability by reducing N2O emissions.