Porous carbon materials have been widely used for the removal of SO

2

from flue gas. The main objective of this work is to clarify the effects of adsorption temperature on SO

2

adsorption and desorption energy consumption. Coal-based porous powdered activated coke (PPAC) prepared in the drop-tube reactor was used in this study. The N

2

adsorption measurements and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer analysis show that PPAC exhibits a developed pore structure and rich functional groups. The experimental results show that with a decrease in adsorption temperature in the range of 50–150?℃

the adsorption capacity of SO

2

increases linearly; meanwhile

the adsorption capacity of H

2

O increases

resulting in the increase in desorption energy consumption per unit mass of adsorbent. The processes of SO

2

and H

2

O desorption were determined by the temperature-programmed desorption test

and the desorption energies for each species were calculated. Considering the energy consumption per unit of desorption and the total amount of adsorbent

the optimal adsorption temperature yielding the minimum total energy consumption of regeneration is calculated. This study systematically demonstrates the effect of adsorption temperature on the adsorption–desorption process

providing a basis for energy saving and emission reduction in desulfurization sys

tem design.