V2O5 supported activated coke (V/AC) was shown to be a good catalyst for SO2 removal from flue gas. In this work, the heterogeneities of cylindrical V/AC granules (Phi 8.5 . 12.6 mm) are investigated by peeling the granules layer by layer. The results show that the axial ends of the catalyst with a depth of ca. 2 mm contain more pores than other parts of the catalyst. This pore structure distribution results in a similar V2O5 distribution through impregnation and a similar S distribution after SO2 removal. The results show that mass transfer is the main factor affecting SO2 removal over large V/AC granules, and that SO2 removal proceeds mainly along the axial direction of the granules. The granule should be made shorter in the axial direction and longer in the radial direction to improve utilization of V/AC.