SBIR Phase I: Neutralizing Utility Mercury Control Sorbents for Fly Ash Use in Concrete

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将开发廉价的方法来处理用于发电厂汞控制的商用粉末活性碳(PAC)，以便它们不会干扰混凝土中飞灰的有效使用。本项目的目的是筛选和优化这样的前处理方法。主要项目任务包括生产经过处理的样品；测试对AEA的影响、产生的水泥和汞去除性能；以及对所涉及的化学过程有一个基本的了解。布朗大学及其能源和环境技术实验室的碳材料研究人员将协助这项工作。在商业上，在建筑应用中用飞灰废物代替水泥是美国最大的回收成功之一。不幸的是，最近发现，即使是最少量的PAC注入发电厂的烟气中以控制汞排放，飞灰也将无法用于混凝土。高吸附碳严重干扰了掺入混凝土中的引气外加剂(AEAs)的引气和稳定作用。对公用事业公司的经济影响可能是巨大的。因此，这里开发的PAC前处理方法在提高或至少不降低PAC除汞性能的同时，将对AEA的不利影响降至最低，这是至关重要的。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop inexpensive methods to pretreat commercial powdered activated carbons (PAC) used for power plant mercury control so that they will not interfere with effective use of fly ash in concretes. The objective of this project is to screen and optimize such pretreatment methods. Major project tasks include producing pretreated samples; testing for effects on AEAs, resulting cements, and mercury removal performance; and developing a fundamental understanding of the chemical processes involved. Carbon materials researchers at Brown University and their Energy and Environmental Technologies Laboratory will assist in the effort. Commercially the substitution of fly ash wastes for cement in construction applications is one of America.s biggest recycling successes. Unfortunately, it was recently discovered that if even minimal PAC is injected into power plant flue gases for mercury emission control, the fly ash will be rendered unusable for concrete. The highly-adsorbent carbons severely interfere with the air-entraining admixtures (AEAs) added to concrete for air entrainment and stabilization. The economic implications for utilities may be huge. Thus the PAC pretreatments developed here which minimize adverse effects on AEA while enhancing, or at least not degrading, PAC mercury removal performance are of prime importance.