Nanoporous Sorbents for Mercury Removal from Flue Gases

描述（由申请人提供）：汞是一个重要的环境问题，因为它的毒性、在环境中的持久性和在食物链中的生物积累。美国大约80%的汞排放来自燃煤电厂和垃圾焚烧炉。烟气中的汞很难控制，因为它以蒸气的形式存在，很容易通过传统的微粒控制装置。活性炭注入已被证明是一种控制技术，用于垃圾焚烧炉的微粒控制装置中捕获汞和飞灰。然而，为了有效地去除汞，需要大量的活性炭吸附剂，这给粉煤灰的利用和处理带来了问题。为了克服这些限制，Lynntech正在开发一种新的纳米多孔吸附剂，用于有效和经济地从烟气中去除汞。这项研究的目标是开发一种含有新型纳米多孔吸附剂的滤筒系统，并使其商业化，这种吸附剂可以很容易地改造到现有的垃圾焚烧炉和发电厂。使用汞蒸气对该吸附剂进行的初步研究表明，汞去除率达到99.9%。第一阶段的总体目标是优化成分，以最大限度地提高汞容量和最小化制造成本。将在模拟垃圾焚烧炉烟气中产生并测试一系列候选吸附材料。将选择表现最好的候选者进行额外的测试，以表征原料气变化和成分的影响。将开发吸附剂回收的方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mercury is a significant environmental concern because of its toxicity, persistence in the environment, and bioaccumulation in the food chain. Approximately 80% of all U.S. mercury emissions come from coal-fired power plants and waste incinerators. Mercury is difficult to control in flue gas because it exists as a vapor, which easily passes through conventional particulate control devices. Activated carbon injection has been demonstrated as a control technology for waste incinerators to capture mercury along with fly ash in particulate control devices. However, for efficient removal of mercury a large quantity of activated carbon sorbent is needed, which creates fly ash utilization and disposal problems. To overcome these limitations, Lynntech is developing a new nanoporous sorbent for efficient and cost-effective removal of mercury from flue gas. The goal of this proposed research is to develop and commercialize a cartridge system containing the new nanoporous sorbent that can be easily retrofitted into the existing waste incinerators and power plants. Preliminary studies performed with this sorbent using mercury vapor demonstrated >99.9% mercury removal. The overall aim of Phase I is to optimize compositions to maximize mercury capacity and minimize manufacturing cost. A series of candidate sorbent materials will be generated and tested in simulated waste incinerator flue gas. The best-performing candidates will be selected for additional testing to characterize the effects of feed gas variation and composition. Methods for sorbent recycling will be developed.